Shifting Horizons
by Liliumrosaline
Summary: Fifth year fiction: Someone sharing Lily's blood showed up in summer after fourth year and touches not only Harry's but the lives of others whose future depends on Harry's actions. The new person helps both Harry and Snape to bond together. No Slash, Good Dumbledore, Snape mentors Harry story.
1. Summer Surprises

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Warner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **Title:** Shifting Horizons

 **Author:** liliumrosaline

 **Summary:** Fifth year fiction: Someone sharing Lily's blood showed up in summer after fourth year and touches not only Harry's but the lives of others whose future depends on Harry's actions. The new person helps Harry and Snape to bond together. No Slash; Snape mentors /adopt Harry story.

 **Ratings:** T (Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language and minor suggestive adult themes)

 **Genre:** Drama/Adventure/ Family/Friendship/ Hurt-Comfort

 **Pairing:** HP/GW, HG/RW, SS/LE/OC, SB/MM, RL/NT

 **VVVV**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Summer Surprises**

It was an evening of late June. The sun had begun setting, inviting people to get out of their cool sanctuaries. In contrast to a somewhat cool evening the entire day was hot. The bright and blazing sun forced everyone to hide idly under the cool sheds of their houses. The dullness of summer was so evident that even meddlesome people like one Mrs. Petunia Dursley and her so called normal family had stopped snooping around neighborhood. Before this summer they never considered a serious long vacation or anything that kept them away from their perfect house at Private Drive but this year the harsh summer forced them to do something different; they decided to visit Switzerland. Hence, as preparation they shopped, renewed their passports, decided a date and booked tickets. As perfectly as possible they worked out every detail of their vacation trip except one. They deliberately forgot to give the news to their nearly fifteen year old nephew, Mr. Harry James Potter who had returned a week ago for summer break and happened to be living in their house.

Upstairs, inside his room Harry yawned and collected many parchments scattered all over his table. He arranged them in a neat pile following some kind of order. It was his self designed summer project to keep himself away from dreadful memories of the horrible events that happened at the end of Tri-wizard tournament. At Hogwarts the memories of Voldemort's rebirth and Cedric's death became nightmares. For weeks the horrors plagued his nights but at the Dursleys' he was rescued by his new project. The project involved a tedious work of collecting and making detailed notes on a variety of defense spells which kept him sufficiently busy for day and night. In last the seven days he just read and wrote until he exhausted himself into a fitful sleep with a mind full of new spells quite unavailable for new nightmares.

Harry eyed his yet unfinished project satisfactorily and thanked his lucky stars who made his summer stay pretty bearable. He remembered how a week ago an annoyed looking Vernon Dursley picked him up from King's Cross and as soon as they reached home, Vernon locked away Harry's school trunk inside the cupboard under the stairs. Harry did recall the triumphant smirk given by his big headed uncle who arrogantly ignored the very old, extra large jacket Harry was wearing. As Harry kept his expression blank and waited until Vernon disappeared inside the house. His heart thumped loudly but as the tense moment passed he silently thanked Hermione and the Weasley Twins for using their brilliance and resourcefulness. They used a few complicated charms to create a number of pockets inside the over sized, hand me down jacket so that it securely held many things weightlessly. Harry used his charmed jacket wisely by stuffing it with blank parchments, self-inking quills, and many books on Defense, Charms, Transfiguration and Potions. He did not forget his most prized possessions namely a Phoenix wand, an Invisibility clock, the Marauder's Map and the photo album Hagrid gave him in his first year.

Harry watched the sunset through his barred window. As seconds passed the bright orange-yellow disc of the sun began to travel slowly below the horizon. Harry silently admired the beauty of the vanishing sun. Without any intention his thoughts concentrated on his own summer. For everyone the summer was harsh but for Harry it turned out tolerable. The hot summer came with a severe drought meaning there was a constraint on using water to maintain lawns, gardens or washing cars; in other words he did not have any chores for the entire summer, and he happily welcomed the new development by keeping himself inside his room. During this whole time he did not touch any of his homework, instead he chose to work on his Defense project. He had thought that his Aunt and Uncle might miss him at least a few times for not doing chores but they didn't. In contrast, they felt happy for Harry's continuous absence. The first day Harry showed up in the kitchen to cook breakfast and dinner but no one reacted to his presence. They just neglected him and ate. Just to check, Harry did not show up in kitchen at all the next day and got surprised when no one bothered to complain. From that day onward Harry got his meager meals through the cat flap in his door. Whenever he came downstairs he only got glares from Vernon and Petunia. Even Dudley and his goons neglected Harry as they got busy doing something secretive under the extra sensitive noses of their parents. In response Harry remained silent and maintained the unspoken truce as sincerely as possible.

As the sun disappeared below the horizon, the orange light mingled with the blue of the sky and produced a vast array of different colors. Harry watched the darkening beautiful canvass filled with different colors. He sighed as the gloominess of the dark evening clouded his mind with the hopeless thoughts of being alone in the whole word. He remembered the last night when he overheard Vernon talking about their summer vacation trip without him. Vernon even told Petunia that Harry had to work for the summer if he needed extra food or other stuff when they were away for their vacation. For a moment Harry felt a pang of disappointment and jealousy but then he decided to ignore the unfairness and focused on the brighter side of the situation. He just got a Dursley free summer. That meant he was free to do anything without thinking about the Dursleys all the time. He knew he just needed Hedwig back from the Burrow, so he could contact Hermione, Sirius or the Weasleys for help.

A doorbell rang downstairs and Harry got distracted from his musings. Harry knew except for him and Petunia no one was inside the house. Vernon and Dudley were gone for shopping and his aunt never volunteered to answer the door. So as a habit he left his room quickly and descended the staircase two at time. But he was late as Petunia had already opened the door. Harry was at the bottom of the stairs when he saw the utter surprise on his aunt's face. At this Harry's curiosity heightened and instead of turning around he crossed the hallway quietly and remained there to see their guest.

Harry saw a beautiful woman. She had shoulder length light brown hair and very big sunglasses on her nose. She was wearing a knee length light blue flowery dress with matching sandals. She was as tall as Petunia and had a dazzling smile on her pretty face. She removed her glasses and opened her mouth to say something but Petunia was first.

"LILY..? But How?"Gasped Petunia, "NO, it's not possible. They… They said so."

Harry heard Petunia stutter with a dread. For a moment Harry thought his aunt had gone mad but then his heart began to flutter as he observed their guest carefully. Although he saw his mother a few times in photographs, he still could tell the resemblance between his mother and the woman standing very elegantly in front of Petunia. There were only few differences such as the woman on their doorsteps had light brown hair instead of red and her eyes were bluish green instead of emerald.

The woman who looked like Lily pitied Petunia and broke the awkward silence. "Hello, Petunia, I'm Megan, Dr. Megan Olivia Spencer. I am definitely not Lily but I can explain everything to you if you allow me to enter inside."

For a moment Harry thought the woman at the door might confess about her being Lily and but his hopes crumbled as he heard the introduction in a very soft American accent.

Petunia schooled her expression and decided to welcome her new guest before someone noticed Megan and began to ask some awkward questions. "My apologies Dr. Spencer. Please do come in."

Both women entered in and saw Harry, who absolutely forgot to remove himself from the hallway. Petunia glared at Harry but Harry remained in the hallway watching their new guest with curiosity.

Megan noticed the skinny teenager wearing a pair of very over sized, worn out blue jeans with yellow t-shirt. Megan did not miss the glare Petunia gave the boy. To Megan the boy looked miserable, underweight and tensed. Casually she made an eye contact with the boy and a very peculiar sensation coursed through her mind. She felt a longing, some kind painful yearning in those emerald eyes. She felt a sense of strong familiarity with the boy. She felt a need to protect the boy. And then a thought crossed her mind, like her the boy might have had a close relationship with her twin sister, Lily Evans.

Petunia cleared her throat and reluctantly Harry broke the eye contact. He saw the warning on Petunia's face and decided to go upstairs. But no sooner had he turned to do so than Megan stopped him.

"Sorry Petunia but I think it will be better if he joins us too. Don't know how but I can tell that he had a strong relationship with Lily."

Petunia took minute to process the suggestion and finally nodded, "Fine Dr. Spencer as you wish. Any way you are correct about his being related to her. He is Lily's son." was her curt reply.

"Thanks Petunia and please call me Megan." said Megan politely.

As a reply Petunia just nodded and showed the way inside her house. With an unsettled curiosity Harry just followed both women.

On her way Megan observed the perfectly arranged house. She saw many photo frames showing a very happy looking family of three people namely Petunia, a very overweight boy and a smug looking extra large man. She assumed they were Dudley and Vernon Petunia's son and Husband respectively. To Megan the frames looked incomplete; somehow she was expecting to see the skinny boy with emerald eyes in those frames. Megan followed Petunia's direction and took a seat around the tea table. She saw the boy disappear in the direction of the kitchen and came back with two glasses of lemonade. He did not take a seat and stood instead, near Petunia's chair.

"I don't understand Megan, if you are not Lily then why do you look like her?" asked Petunia impatiently.

Harry heard the question he was itching to ask. For the first time he thanked Petunia silently for her prying.

Megan smiled at Petunia and requested sweetly, "Be patient Petunia, I'll answer your questions one by one just tell me what I should call this young man?"

"Megan he is Harry James Potter and you can call him whatever you want." answered Petunia.

"Okay 'Harry' it is then. I like the name" commented Megan enthusiastically.

Megan looked at Harry intriguingly and continued talking. "You know I'm going to declare today as the luckiest day of my life. For almost a month I searched and searched but did not get any clue about your family. And now see I found you here, with Petunia. Now come here and sit with us Harry. You know for the last six months I was living with this unexpected revelation and I think now it's your turn to get surprised."

Harry looked at Petunia to get the permission for joining them but got nothing in response. So he simply chose a seat opposite both women.

Megan took a sip of her lemonade and finally decided to reveal her secret. "Petunia actually I don't know Lily at all. But in the past, at the very beginning we were together. What I mean is we shared the same womb when we were unborn babies."

Harry stared dumbly at Megan but Petunia quickly reached the correct conclusion.

"I'm Lily's twin Petunia; we all have the same biological parents, but unfortunately only I knew about it."

It was quite expected considering the resemblance between Megan and Lily but still the news did not miss the surprise factor. The revelation made both Harry and Petunia remain silent for while.

Harry was the first who came to his senses, "That's Great! I never thought about it. Hey, and this means … it makes you my aunt too."

"Thanks to my sisters but I've two nephews and I'm glad to know that Harry." replied Megan coolly.

Petunia did not like Harry's excitement over this news, for some reason she felt suspicious. "I don't understand but how can my parents never have told us about you? And why should I believe you?"

"I know Petunia it's difficult to believe. But just to avoid further questioning I do have original birth certificates and adoption papers with me which will prove to you that I'm telling you the truth. If you are interested you may see them."

Megan hurriedly removed a folder from her handbag and delivered it to Petunia who inspected it thoroughly. Petunia returned said folder to Megan dubiously. To curb her curiosity she asked skeptically, "Megan I know these documents look legal but still I'm confused that how and why my parents gave their daughter to some strange couple for adoption."

Megan sighed and decided to tell the story her dying adoptive mother had told her. "Petunia and Harry, from now on you both have to believe my words because what I'm going to share with you was only known by few people and unfortunately they all are dead. So the information I've with me is based on the story told by my mother on her deathbed. And I knew she was telling the truth, because she did not have any reason to lie to me. Oh and please believe me I always know when people lie to me."

Harry grinned at Megan's last statement but hid it when Petunia gave him a scathing glare.

"Thirty six years ago my adoptive parents Isabella and Benjamin Spencer were happily living in London. One day Isabella met a very kind woman named Mrs. Olivia Evans. But the situation was quite ill-fated when they met" began Megan but stopped when she saw Petunia open her mouth to say something.

"Yes, that's true, my mother was a kind person but how could have she done this to us" accused Petunia softly. She always resented Lily for inheriting Olivia's every good character including her green eyes, red hair and the kindness. She glanced at Megan with wistful eyes and just waved to continue the story.

So Megan continued. "It was cloudy evening of late august and Isabella was coming home from some grocery shopping. She was crossing a fairly crowded road when a car struck her. It was a severe accident. She immediately lost consciousness. When she opened her eyes she found herself in a hospital-bed with my adoptive father Mr. Benjamin Spencer sitting at her bedside. Once she had regained her consciousness Benjamin informed her about the unfortunate accident which injured her badly. With a heavy heart he also informed her about the loss of their unborn baby as well as the loss of her ability to bare the child again. A few hours later on the same day they met the culprit of the accident, who was a woman named Mrs. Olivia Evans. The investigation authority confirmed that the car accident was not her fault at all. It happened due to the failure of Olivia's car engine."

Megan paused and took a large sip of her lemonade. To Harry she looked pensive, much serious than earlier.

"Oh, I'm sorry Megan but I never knew about the accident. My parents had never talked about it." Harry was not surprised to hear a hidden indictment under Petunia's formal apology. Harry knew Petunia and her resolve to stick with normality very well. She did not cope well with unexpected revelations. Harry saw Megan smile sadly at Petunia and resumed her tale.

"I know Petunia but we can't do anything about it now. It happened in the past and as per Isabella Mr. and Mrs. Evans willingly paid for all the hospital and other bills. They sincerely apologized for the accident but felt terribly guilty when they heard about the Spencer's loss of their unborn child as well as the ability to bare another. The news especially had a deep impact on Mrs. Evans who took a very strange decision in the near future."

"And what was that?" asked Harry impatiently as Megan took another pause. Petunia just glared at Harry but did not say anything as she had a fleeting idea about next part of Megan's story.

Megan looked at Harry and answered gently. "One day in November both Mr. and Mrs. Evans visited the Spencer's and made an odd request. Mrs. Evans told Isabella that she was pregnant with twins and would deliver them near January end. They requested the Spencers to have one of their twins as redemption for the accident. At first the Spencers denied the request but finally Olivia convinced them. And as predicted on January end in a remote hospital in Northern England, Olivia delivered twins, one with green eyes and another with bluish-green eyes where they arranged a quick and secret adoption. A year later the Spencers moved to New York and I began my life as Megan Olivia Spencer. My middle name was Isabella's choice, by using it she wanted to keep alive a link between me and my biological mother. "

Harry listened to everything carefully and did not find anything deceitful. To him Megan looked relieved at end of story. In reality the story shocked him. Just an hour ago he did not know any living relative except Petunia and Dudley but then he met his mother's twin sister, Megan; who was alive and pleasant too. No doubt she looked like his mother, but there was something remarkable about her, which was compelling Harry to observe her carefully. Whenever he made eye contact with Megan he felt a strange feeling; something in Megan was trying to reach for him. A kind of unusual warmth was trying to envelop him and that never happened with Petunia. Petunia always had a bitter attitude towards Harry. She never tried to be affectionate around him. Unintentionally Harry began to compare the two sisters and concluded that he needed to be in touch with his new aunt but later when the Dursleys would be out for the summer.

"But I don't understand Megan, if you are happy with your adoptive family, why did you come here? Don't you think that it is too late to regenerate any bonding between us?" asked Petunia callously.

"I know what you are thinking Petunia. May be it sounds ridiculous to you but the day my mother told me the truth about my adoption I had this crazy feeling that I want to meet you and Lily. I was alone since last June after Isabella died because of lung cancer and I already lost my father three years back in a massive heart attack. In reality I don't want to be alone anymore and don't see any harm in knowing each other. I just wanted to have some connection with my biological family, that's all."

Harry knew the feeling of being alone for his whole life. He felt sorry for Megan and if possible decided to rectify her condition. So when he saw an opportunity asked quickly, "Um… So should I be seeing you around Dr. Spencer? Um… I mean Aunt Megan."

"Harry, you may call me Megan. No need to be so formal. And the answer to your question is yes. I've decided to stay in London. Actually I'm living in London for a month now."

"So you are not going back to New York then?" asked Harry to clear his doubt.

Megan took some time to come with answer. "I think I may go back in the near future but not now. I have been thinking about you people for over a year now. Once I planned everything I began to wind up my things in US. You see I've inherited a great deal of wealth from my adoptive parents plus earned plenty of money through my previous job. But before I came here I used some of my connections and secured an easy part time job as a freelance Science column writer in The London Times, a local newspaper. Once I got here I hired an estate agent to find a suitable house for me. So in less than a month I have a job, a car and a huge Georgian style house in town called Aisleton in Western London. It's weird but with every passing day I begin to like this country more and more."

"Wow! That's sounds great. Do you mind if I… "

Petunia interrupted Harry before he completed his sentence "But how did you find out our address Megan?"

Megan neglected Petunia's demanding tone and answered truthfully, "My mother gave me your old address at Cokeworth. But when I visited that place, I was told that both Mr. and Mrs. Evans died fifteen years ago and their elder daughter meaning you sold the property to someone else. I was disappointed but after searching a few databases I found your address but not Lily's. There was no sign of Lily's existence. For a moment I thought that she might be working with some 'Top Secret Agency' or something similar. I decided to ask you about her whereabouts. Hence, I came here to see you and your family but luckily I met Harry too."

Petunia nodded in response but did not lose the pinched look on her face. She was trying to digest the idea of having a living sister who happened to be a twin of her dead freak sister.

Megan gave a teasing smile to Harry and asked suddenly, "So where you and your Parents lives Harry?"

A painful expression crossed on Harry's face but before he gave any answer Petunia explained hurriedly. "After graduation Lily married a guy named James Potter. When Harry was fifteen months old the whole family had a freakish car accident which took the lives of Lily and James but Harry survived. After the funeral we took Harry in as he doesn't have any other living relatives."

Harry was taken aback by Petunia's skillful lie. He heard that story many times before but the lie hurt. A sudden wave of anger clouded his mind. For a moment he wanted to shatter something but one glance from Megan and he began to calm down.

Megan observed her nephew and a wave of sorrow and anger washed over her mind. It was strange but she felt his loss, emptiness and anguish. It was intense. She wanted him to calm down and he did but took few seconds. On the other hand she was feeling a subtle lie, jealously and hatred from Petunia. She did not understand why a sister like Petunia should harbor such vile feeling for her dead little sister. She wanted to know more about Lily but instead came up with the most appropriate words. "Oh No..! That's really terrible Petunia! I'm really sorry for your loss Harry. It hurts to think that I'll never get a chance to meet Lily but I'm fortunate to meet both of you."

Megan paused for moment and then added thoughtfully, "Petunia, I really appreciate what you are doing for Harry and it is a kind decision on your behalf. I'm sure Harry is feeling gratified for your help and guidance. "

Petunia became giddy when she heard Megan's amazing remarks. In response she came with a dramatic response. "It's okay Megan. We are quite happy now. It happened a long time ago and it's quite disturbing to remember and revive the painful events of past. I miss them terribly Megan, but for Harry's sake we decided to move on towards a better and happy future."

Megan did not believe Petunia at all rather her every word seemed insincere to Megan. She counted ten to control her temper and then suddenly decided to change the subject. So with a thought she casually asked "Would you mind Petunia to come with your family to dinner tomorrow evening at my place?"

Petunia answered with a smile. "Thanks for the invitation Megan but I think it's not possible tomorrow. You see, we will be leaving for our summer vacation tomorrow morning. It's Switzerland and we still are doing some last minute planning and packing. May be we should arrange it sometime later."

"It's okay Petunia. I can understand and as you have suggested we can have it any other time may be when you return."

Harry stared down at his old baggy jeans to hide his irritation but without any effort Megan sensed it. "So, have you packed everything Harry? You must be excited to visit the new country then. Trust me Harry Switzerland is a beautiful country. You will be amazed by its beauty."

Harry looked up and without a second thought answered, "But I'm not allowed Megan… I'm gro…"

Petunia knew what was coming from Harry; so she hurriedly interrupted him, "It means he had a very lengthy and important school project to complete and one of our neighbors will be taking care of him until we return."

Suddenly a thought struck Megan "Hey I have a brilliant Idea Petunia. What if I invite Harry at my place until you return? We can use this time to get to know each other and if possible I will supervise his summer project too. So no need to bother a neighbor and he will be in his aunt's care. So what do you think Harry? Would you like to come with your new aunt?"

Harry was so shocked that he did not know how to reply. He knew Dumbledore wanted him to live with Petunia for blood wards, but going with Megan offered the same protection as she was Lily's sister too. Harry did not take more than a minute to decide what he wanted but still there was one big problem that Megan had no idea about. First she did not know that Harry was a wizard and second a maniac named Lord Voldemort wanted Harry dead.

Petunia was delighted by Megan's idea. She decided to do what she wanted to do for the last fourteen years, to be free from her forced responsibility. She decided it was a time for someone to step in her place and take care of her freak nephew. She smiled sweetly at Megan and vocalized her choice, "That would be great Megan. I think if possible and if you liked then you can keep him until summer ends then he will be off to his boarding school until next summer. Rather I suggest you pick him up today, and then you both will have plenty of time for yourselves. Give him a few minutes and he will be ready to go. Won't you Harry, my Boy?"

Harry wanted to gag at Petunia's sweet tone but then decided to nod for her much expected decision. He knew if possible, Petunia would have gotten rid of him in the blink of an eye a long time ago and this was her only chance to fulfill her dream.

Megan was surprised by Petunia's swift response. Without showing any emotion she calmly accepted the offer. "That will be fine with me Petunia. Harry is and will be welcome at my home anytime."

She then winked at Harry and cheered enthusiastically, "Time to pack your bags Harry! We are leaving!"

 **VVVVVVVVVVVV**

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for awesome reviews and suggestions especially to my friend im1inamillion . As suggested by im1inamillion and other readers I'm re-posting this chapter with few changes. Hope you will like it. Enjoy..


	2. Accepted

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Warner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **Pairing:** HP/GW, HG/RW, SS/LE/OC, SB/MM, RL/NT

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the awesome reviews and suggestions especially to my friend im1inamillion. As suggested by im1inamillion and other readers, I've re-posted first chapter with a few changes. Don't forget to read it. Hope you will like it. Enjoy…

 **VVVV**

 **Chapter Two**

 **Accepted**

Harry knew he should be happy for getting away from the Dursleys. He should be thankful for Megan's unexpected appearance and eagerness to invite him to live with her; the burden of talking to Megan about his magical abilities or about his parent's death made him anxious. Although he was nervous, once he retrieved his School trunk from the cupboard under the stairs he did not waste a minute to leave Number Four. With hurried steps he dragged his heavy trunk and old rucksack over to the front garden and in a few minutes he reached Megan's car.

Megan was waiting for Harry near her car, thinking about the things she observed inside her sister's house. She knew something was wrong in that house. At first she was puzzled by Harry's ragged attire which was odd for the perfect house he was living in. Her doubts heightened when she saw how Harry behaved around Petunia and how Petunia treated him in return. The whole interaction between them looked strained and unhappy. So based on her overall observations Megan came up with a conclusion that Petunia did not care about her nephew and was eagerly trying to get rid of him.

Megan's wait was over as soon as she saw a nervous looking Harry approaching her car. She was quite surprised to see the heavy, old fashioned school trunk with Harry.

"Harry, it looks heavy. Let me help you" said Megan opening the rare end of her car.

"Um…Thanks Megan, I'm okay with it. It's not that heavy."

Harry struggled with his heavy trunk but Megan did not listen, she just intervened. Harry tried to protest but Megan was quick. With some efforts she mounted Harry's luggage in her car.

"See, it's easy that way and asking for help is good Harry. Now go and grab a seat. We have long trip."

Harry opened the car's front door and took the passenger seat. A few seconds later Megan arrived and took the driver's seat. She turned the keys and started the car.

"Um… Thanks Megan, for letting me to come with you" thanked Harry with hesitation.

"Harry no need to thank me because as your mother's sister it is my duty to look after you. Any ways, right now except for you and Petunia, I don't have anyone to call my family and my new house is quite big to live alone."

"That's okay Megan and for a change I would like to live with you." said Harry with a smile.

"I know it is not perfect like Petunia's; it's kind of messy right now but I think you'll like my house."

Megan's car turned left and emerged on a highway. She increased the speed and saw Harry give her a grin.

"I take it you know how to drive and like the speedy one."

"Not really, I mean I know the basic but never got a chance to drive a real car." For a moment Harry remembered the magical Ford Anglia he and Ron used in their second year. Harry shuddered with the thought of the Forbidden forest and the dangerous creatures dwelling in it. The thought made him think about magic and how he should reveal his secret to Megan. His troublesome thoughts were distracted by appearance of various shops and attractive places on both sides of the highway. In his past he never got a chance to see or visit places like shopping malls, theaters or fancy restaurants. He always felt a pang of jealousy for Dudley who frequently visited these places.

Megan neither missed the glimpse of apprehension nor the wistful look that crossed over Harry's face. She wanted to talk with her nephew but decided to remain silent and simply watch him. A few minutes later her car took another left turn in the direction of west London. From there she drove nearly thirty minutes and finally came across a rough road leading towards a town named Aisleton.

Harry noticed the change in scenery. As compared to the highway, the rough roadway had less traffic. As they progressed further a thick lining of trees began to appear on both sides of road. The brightly glowing lampposts installed on either side of the road were not sufficient to lighten the densely packed forest area. A few miles further the road came to a bridge over a small river filled with clear water. Once they crossed the bridge, Harry saw a welcome board of 'Aisleton'. Megan stopped her car at the town's entry to show Harry a board map showing the entire town. It was clear from the map that Aisleton was spread around six squares.

Megan smiled at Harry and announced cheerfully, "This is it Harry, welcome to Aisleton. From the map you can see that six main squares and town ends. It's much smaller than Surrey, but I ensure you that Aisleton has many interesting spots to visit, especially the river bank. It's good for fishing and picnics. Plus if you like history then this town has a ton of stories, all filled with action, adventure and drama."

"Are you talking about the same river we just crossed?" asked Harry.

"Yes, the same river. It emerges from the nearby mountains then flows freely on west-south boundary of Aisleton and finally meets The Thames just outside of London."

As Megan answered Harry's questions she drove her car further and reached the First Square surrounded mostly by small neat houses. Instead of going right she chose the left motorway and emerged near Fourth Square which was nothing but the town's center and crowed with a variety of shops, restaurants, pubs and lots of other places where one could enjoy their day. A few miles away from the town's center on the far north side stood a beautiful church surrounded by a park. On their way to east side of town Harry saw a small old railway station. Ten minutes away from the station, further East the number of closely packed houses began to decline; instead big properties surrounded with fields and barns appeared. Harry saw that Megan did not stop there; instead she drove further until the road bent further into an area covered by old trees and knee length meadows.

Finally Megan slowed down in front of the property enclosing an old, two storied Georgian house built in black stones. She entered the property through a gate flanked by a thick boundary line of box plantation. This side of town looked much darker but car's headlights and few lampposts around the property were sufficient to show the nearby area. In that light Harry saw the almost six feet tall hedge line. On close observation he found out that hedge needed a good trimming. Megan stopped her car just outside the garage and looked at Harry who was looking at the beautiful Maple tree on the left side of the house.

"Okay, we are home dear" welcomed Megan but then added eagerly, "How does it look, Harry?"

Harry turned his head in Megan's direction and answered with a big smile. "It is awesome Megan. I've never visited such a beautiful old house. Along with that Maple the house looks beautiful. "

"Yes that Maple, it's a sight to watch. When I first saw it I was fascinated by its beauty and vastness. It enhances the splendor of the house. And according to my estate agent it was as old as the house itself" replied Megan while coming out of her car. Harry did the same.

Megan's entire property was surrounded by four lampposts, out which two were situated in front and were enough to light the garden poorly. With Megan's help Harry removed his luggage from the car's trunk and followed her across the garden. A few feet away they reached a stony pathway that leads them to the bottom of a stony staircase leading into a spacious front porch. Harry climbed up and turned around to take a look of the entire property.

Harry found that the tall and thick Box hedge was running around the whole property and just few feet inside it a few old handsome trees of Alder, Elm and Willow were standing like knights in shining armor. He grinned when he saw the remaining yard was covered in random patches of knee length grass, wild Ivy's and some weedy shrubs except for a well worn stony pathway dividing the front garden in two halves. Somewhere in his mind Harry noted the messy look of the yard as a difference between Megan and Petunia. He knew if Petunia saw it she would throw a fit.

Megan saw Harry's funny look and immediately came up with an explanation. "I know what are you thinking, Harry. I know it looks wild, but please believe me, I'm planning to rectify it."

"Um… don't worry Megan; I know how to garden. I can help you in planning. Lots of cleaning and plantation of few new varieties will be great."

"I hope it works Harry. Any way let's go inside and see which room suits you. By the way I'm using the master suite on the ground floor so you can have any room on the first floor. Just give me a moment Harry."

Megan removed a set of old keys. She chose a big black one and used it to open the lock on the main door. The door opened with a click. She gave a gentle push on both door panels and they instantly opened into a wide hallway covered in dark brown wooden flooring. As soon as they entered Megan switched on the main switch causing the entire house to shine in a bright light.

Harry followed Megan into the brightly lit hallway. Megan hooked her coat on the coat stand nearby. A few feet away from the main door the hallway had two doors situated exactly opposite to each other. The left door opened into a nice dining room with a large dining table surrounded by matching chairs. The right one opened into a study room with many half filled bookshelves, a couch, a study table with four chairs and a big glass window. A grand staircase leading to the next floor was situated in middle of the hallway, just few feet away from the study and dining room.

Harry kept his school trunk at the bottom of the staircase and followed Megan further into the house. Contrary to the wild look outside, the inside of the house was perfectly organized. The house had a symmetrical plan with stony walls and wooden flooring. The hallway finally ended into a large family room with a big hearth, a couch and a few wingchairs. The family room was flanked by a kitchen on left side and a master bedroom on the right side. On the far left end of the house, the hallway separating the kitchen and dining room ended into a small bathroom and laundry room. While the far right end of the hallway ended into a door which had a staircase leading into a garage which was situated next to the study room and had an opening into the yard.

With some efforts Megan carried Harry's school trunk upstairs. She showed Harry all four bedrooms out of which Harry chose the front right bedroom. For a moment Harry hesitated but then entered the room. He walked around the room and immediately liked it. The room was much larger than his previous room at the Dursleys'. It had a large glass window with wooden ceiling. It showed a view of the front garden and other neighbors beyond Megan's property. The room had a medium sized bed, a closet, a study table with a chair and a bookshelf. The room had an attached bathroom with a sink, a shower, commode and a medicine cabinet with a mirror on it.

"Great, I like it. It's much better than what I have at the Dursleys'. Thank you very much Megan."

Megan heard Harry's statement and her doubts about his mistreatment at the Dursleys' began to solidify. "No need to thank me and by the way good choice Harry. It shows the front garden as well as our neighbors. I think it's perfect for you."

She paused and then continued. "Harry, I think we need to work on this room. For example a computer would be fine here as you will need it to complete your summer project. And maybe you can change those old curtains. They look rusty to me."

Harry felt Happy. After a long time someone other than Sirius and the Weasleys wanted to do something for him. When he looked at Megan he saw pure joy on her face but before he accepted anything from her he needed to clarify some important things to Megan.

"Um… thanks Megan but before I accept your offer I need to tell you some things. It will be hard but whatever you hear from me you need to believe me. Actually I was expecting it from aunt Petunia but I guess I was wrong."

"You mean she purposely hid something from me? That's mean! Now I understand why she was trying to be charming and nice. It was an act, wasn't it?" An irritated Megan commented dryly and took a seat on a nearby chair.

With a sigh Harry stood against the window sill. For a moment he looked at the old Maple tree. He decided to explain everything as clearly as possible to Megan. He did not know he was or wasn't breaking any magical law by exposing the magical world to Megan. He just wanted to alert Megan so that she could understand that by offering him a shelter she was putting herself in grave danger. With a sigh he looked at Megan and just began his story.

"Megan, do you believe in magic?" asked Harry with utter seriousness.

The question was weird but what surprised Megan was Harry's expression. She never had seen any teenager with this kind of serious determination. She wanted to laugh but she controlled it for Harry. The word 'magic' stirred something inside her subconscious mind but her scientist brain just denied the possibility of having magic around.

Megan hesitated for a while but then decided to answer honestly. "I don't know why you are asking this question Harry but as a scientist I believe in facts and 'magic' has nothing to prove its existence. I'm really sorry Harry but 'magic' is unreal to me. I believe it exists only in fairy tales not in real life."

"You definitely sound like a scientist Megan. I can't blame you. Even I, until my eleventh birthday never had a serious thought about Magic. But I was wrong. Even aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon know magic exists but they considered it an abnormality. They hated it; they hated everything including me which did not fit their perfectly normal world. They always told me not to believe on freakish things like magic. Whenever I did some unexplainable things they punished me. You see they wanted me to be normal but my fate had something else in mind."

Harry looked at Megan and said nonchalantly, "Yes, Megan Magic exists. Believe it or not but it's real."

"Oh, come on Harry, you had me but I'm not buying it" said Megan without trying to control her laugh.

"Please Megan; trust me I'm not lying. I'm a wizard and I'm not the only who has magic. There are more than thousands of wizarding families living all over England. Rather I'm not the only one in our family who has it; my mum, your twin sister Lily and my father James belonged in the magical community. I inherited it from them." Harry tried to explain but Megan did not believe it.

Harry lost his patience and in a fit of frustration he retrieved his rucksack and magical jacket from the floor and emptied their contents onto his bed. Megan left the chair and approached the aggravated teenager. As soon as she put her arm around Harry's shoulder a warm tingle passed through her skin but she just ignored it.

"What are you doing Harry?"Megan asked calmly. She did not wanted to worsen the situation so she decided to accept whatever her nephew was telling her was true for that moment.

Harry searched through the pile of things and fished two things, his wand and album. He handed the precious album to Megan and asked gruffly. "Go ahead, open it; I bet, you never have seen anything like it."

Megan did not know what to expect inside the album. But after a while she made her mind and opened it. She gasped when saw the first moving picture, it was Lily's. Megan immediately recognized her. "It's her, Lily. She is beautiful Harry."

And then Megan saw the next picture and then next. She could not believe but every picture was moving like a video clip. Before this she never had a chance to see her twin sister but those pictures were awesome. They were showing glimpses of Lily's life. It was unbelievable but she knew there were many brilliant minds working in the world of technology. For that moment she considered her nephew was one of them and using a very highly advanced technique to trick her.

Although Megan was going through a shock she did notice Lily's cloak like uniform with red and golden tie which was kind of weird. In some pictures she saw a teenage Lily who was waving alone happily at the camera but in some she was hanging with a handsome boy her age. From Harry's facial features Megan guessed it was James. In the next picture a much older Lily and James were holding a smiling baby with a chubby face and bright emerald eyes. Megan immediately recognized baby Harry. The last few pictures showed Harry and his friend wearing the same cloak like uniform and waving happily at the camera. In the background Megan saw some parts of a big castle and other children wearing blue, green or yellow uniforms.

With some difficulty Megan controlled her desire to see those pictures over and over again. She closed the album and looked at Harry with some determination.

One look from Megan and Harry knew nothing changed. She did not believe him. He felt disappointed and hurt.

A wave of pain met Megan's senses and she saw a flash of loss in emerald eyes of her nephew. Without a second thought she shifted forward and engulfed Harry in a comforting hug. Harry stiffened at first but then accepted the hug. He melted in those arms. The hug initiated something that he never had with Petunia. Even the hug was much different than a hug Mrs. Weasley gave him in the past. He closed his eyes and felt like his own mother was holding him. He felt loved.

Megan did not move an inch. She maintained her hold on Harry until she felt the feeling of calm washed over both of them. A moment later she let go of Harry and held him in front of her. She looked at him very carefully and then whispered very softly.

"Harry you know you have your mother's eyes, otherwise you look exactly like your father"

"Yes, everyone tells me that but I do not remember them." Harry replied quietly. He tried to blink but a lone tear escaped from his eye. Harry quickly freed himself from Megan's hold and rubbed his eyes. He felt awkward for showing his emotions.

"Oh, Harry. It's all right to cry. They were your parents and obviously you miss them. Trust me I know the feeling. I lost mine too Harry."

Uneasily Megan looked around and saw a wooden stick lying next to her. She watched it and very casually picked it up. At first nothing happened but then she felt warmth oozing from stick. She knew it was weird, but she did not say anything instead she kept it down and looked curiously at Harry.

Harry composed himself and decided to try again and finish his story. He picked his wand and begun to observe the scratches on its surface. They were fresh, obtained in the cemetery where he was forced to duel with Voldemort.

"Megan, this stick is commonly known as wand in my magical world."

Megan opened her mouth to say something but Harry was first. "I know you don't believe me and I'm not forcing you to do so just let me finish first. Okay?"

Megan just nodded and Harry continued.

"Unlike 'muggles', meaning non-magical people, we have a magical core which provides us special abilities to do magic which we generally do using a wand. It helps us to focus our magic. In my world when any magical child turns eleven, he or she is allowed to buy a wand. Every wand is made up from different materials and possesses different abilities. Surprisingly every wand chooses its owner, not other way around. My wand chose me on my eleventh birthday; the same day when my friend Hagrid told me that I'm a wizard."

"It's really difficult to digest this weird information Harry but trust me I'm trying."

"I know Megan it's difficult but it's real. It will surprise you to know that most magical children learn to control their magic in a magical school all around the world. Like my parents, mine is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry, the castle you saw in those pictures. I started to attend this school once I turned eleven" informed Harry eagerly. As evidence he handed his magical textbooks to Megan which she opened curiously.

After leafing through Harry's books for a while Megan asked a very obvious question. "Harry, if you know this much of magic then why don't you show me something more practical by using your wand. It will be easier for me to believe then."

Harry's eyes widen when he heard Megan' request. "Um… I know it's the only way to make you believe me but right now I'm unable to do it because I'm an underage wizard and I'm forbidden to do any magic outside Hogwarts. If I perform it deliberately I'll be punished by the Ministry of Magic."

Harry saw a subtle disappointment on Megan's face and came up with an idea. "Hey, give me few days and I'll introduce you to some adult witches and wizards who use magic to perform everyday's tasks."

"Harry don't worry about me, I'm fine with this much information" replied Megan cautiously.

Harry just nodded and decided to tell Megan about dangers he was living in. "Megan there is something more I want to tell you. It involves me, my parents and an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort."

"Go ahead Harry, I'm listening" encouraged Megan with a fake enthusiasm.

And then Harry revealed the painful truth. "Megan, Petunia lied to you about my parents' death too. They did not die in car accident. Thirteen years ago on a dreadful Halloween night they were murdered by Lord Voldemort. I don't know why but he came after my family. He wanted us dead. When he attacked us my father bravely fought against him but Voldemort murdered him. And when he came after me and my mother, she protected me by sacrificing herself. Finally when Voldemort cursed me, the curse rebounded and hit him instead. As a result he lost his physical form and vanished. I only got a scar on my right temple where the killing curse hit me. And then I became a celebrity. Everyone celebrated as Lord Voldemort was gone. But I as an orphan got transferred to the Dursleys' care where on my eleventh birthday Hagrid came with the Hogwarts letter and explained to me that I'm a wizard. He also told me how my parents died. "

Megan remained silent for moment. She did not know what to think of her nephew. He looked honest but whatever he was telling was beyond her imagination. For a moment she thought maybe he had some kind of mental illness and if it was true then definitely Harry needed her help. He needed her support and love to come out of his fictional world but she needed to do it step by step. She decided to observe him keenly for the next few days before she came to any conclusion.

Megan looked casually at Harry and continued their conversation as nothing unusual crossed her mind. "Harry, what you are telling me is terrible as well fascinating. I'm amazed that as baby you survived the attack and defeated that evil wizard, so what now?"

"Megan actually Voldemort did not die that night; he just vanished physically but his evil spirit remained in the darkest part of the world. He waited for a good opportunity then returned to power. When I was in first year he came after the philosophers' stone but I destroyed his plans. In return he tried to kill me but fortunately I got help from my friends and we defeated him once again. In second year he came again but in a different form. That time he possessed one of my friends but I destroyed him on time and freed her. But it was not the end. Last year he once again came with a new plan and in the end he succeeded. He kidnapped me and used my blood to resurrect himself. I managed to escape but unfortunately a boy from my school got killed. And now with all his powers Voldemort is back and one of his goala is he still wants me dead."

"But how come he did not die? And why he is after you?" asked Megan disbelievingly.

"I don't know that Megan but I know one thing. He is after me and that every person who helps me or Professor Dumbledore against him becomes his target. And I'm afraid, now it includes you too Megan."

"Harry, don't try to scare me because an evil magician or not I'm not sending you anywhere. Not even to the Dursleys who treated you like a slave. If he wants you then he has to go through me first. "said Megan fiercely and then added quietly. "I don't know what to say Harry but I'm really sorry for your loss and what you suffer at Dursleys. If I knew this before you never would have had to live with the Dursleys."

Harry was surprised by Megan's statement about the Dursleys, "But how you are so sure about them?"

"I made this conclusion when I saw you and Petunia together and I have a sixth sense for lies Harry. Oh and you yourself told me that they never liked you. And look at your clothes, they are four times larger than your size and they looked very old and ratty. I saw your cousin's photos Harry and I'm sure the clothes you are wearing now had belonged to him."

Harry smiled sheepishly and confessed something he never did before, "Yes, you are right Megan. They never cared about me. My relatives never wanted to waste their money on me because I'm nothing but a waste of space to them. Aunt Petunia hated me because like my mother I'm a magical freak and my mere presence bothers her."

"Oh Harry, don't call yourself freak. Trust me you are as normal as me or Petunia." She ruffled Harry's unruly hair and smiled fondly at him. "Come now, unpack your things and come down for dinner. I think I'm starving Harry and I bet you are too."

Harry just nodded with a smile and decided to accept Megan's offer.

 **VVVVVVVVVVVV**

 **A/N: Next update will be soon.**


	3. Let's Face It

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **VVVVVV**

 **Chapter Three**

 **Let's Face It**

"Hey, but she was pretty Harry" commented Megan for tenth time in last hour.

Harry turned red when saw Megan gave him a teasing smile. He tried to concentrate on his dinner but failed as he remembered the excited day he had with Megan. For the first time in his life Harry enjoyed the shopping in muggle world.

Just after breakfast Megan dragged a very shy and protesting Harry to market in Soho; saying that she needed his assistance to buy things for his room. But actually her aim was to shop for Harry As the time passed Megan guided Harry from one shop to another where she bought variety of decent looking formal shirts, trousers, t-shirts, jeans, jackets, socks and other garments for him. She did not forget to buy pairs of slippers, sneakers and sport shoes for Harry. In one shop she firmly told him to discard his old baggy clothes and wear his brand new, perfectly fitting black jeans and white turtleneck.

When Megan finished with Harry's wardrobe she took Harry to a nice restaurant where they had a heavy lunch which included smoked ham soup, roasted lamb with caramelized onion gravy, French bread and a very tasty lemon pie. And then with full stomach Harry watched his first movie Batman Forever. Megan laughed at Harry in cafeteria when he choked on his coke after a cute blond girl flirted and asked him out.

At the end of the day Megan took Harry to an eye specialist, who checked his eye and prescribed new glasses. Harry chose round silver colored titanium frames which looked good on him.

"Harry, your food is getting cold. Perhaps you should stop thinking about that blond girl; who knows a handsome boy like you will get plenty of them in feature" teased Megan one more time.

"May be, but I don't like blonds" confessed Harry with a smile.

"So should I consider that you are seeing someone which is not blond then?"

"Umm… no… but there is this girl in my school… I don't know if she likes me or not" replied Harry softly. For moment his thoughts lingered on Cho but then he remembered her crying over Cedric's lifeless body at the end of Tri-wizard tournament.

Megan stopped smiling as Harry suddenly became serious. His emerald eyes clouded with guilt and pain. With clink Megan placed her pasta filled spoon down. The noise broke Harry's zeroed state. He blinked few times and looked apologetically at Megan who looked puzzled by his sudden behavior. He tried to eat his salad but the painful thoughts stole his appetite.

"Are you alright Harry? You looked tensed" Megan failed to hide her own agitation. "If you like to tell something then I'm here Harry."

Harry was surprised by Megan's considerate approach but he decided not to share the dreadful memories with her.

"It's nothing, I'm alright Megan" he lied easily and added, "It's just I'm full and remembered something very important to add in my project. I'm thinking that I should go and do it before I go to sleep."

"It's okay Harry you can go. Don't worry I'll take care of the dishes. I'm also thinking about going to bed early. Those damn shoes, my legs are killing me like hell" said Megan with a small smile.

"Umm… Good night then and thanks again Megan for dinner and everything else you did for me today" said Harry sincerity.

Megan just smiled in return when he stood to leave. She knew he was hiding something but decided not to pry further. She knew she needed to be patient with him. With sigh she watched the retreating figure of Harry. Moment later she cleared the table and gone in direction of kitchen to wash them.

In his new room Harry changed into his new comfortable maroon pajamas and got ready for bed. And just like last night, instead of going to sleep he decided to read something fascinating and out of syllabus. He eyed his neatly arranged book collection on nearby shelf. He did not know how many and which books were there in his collection because it was compiled by Hermione, Fred and George. Even Sirius had added few books to it. Harry ignored the Potion books and chose a hard bound copy of vary old looking book. There was no title on cover page of book, it was blank. Curiously Harry turned the cover and found something written on the page. With some difficulty Harry read the faded word written in a fine handwriting.

Dear Sirius,

Mary Christmas.

I finally managed to get my hands on this book. Don't tell father about my present or I'll be grounded for whole winter. I've a plan to solve our little fury problem but we are on our own. Don't forget to read chapter fifteen thoroughly, it's our key to success.

Good luck.

James.

Harry was shocked when he realized it was his father who wrote the note. With a heavy heart he traced the faded words with his fingertips. He tried to imagine how it would be like to have parents which were still alive. He tried to imagine how his father would have reacted when Harry became the youngest seeker in century or faced dragon in Tri-wizard tournament. The feeling of having mother and father to love and guide him was intoxicating. For once in life he wanted to be normal; surrounded by family and friends, without having a fear to lose them.

Harry remembered the happy scene he saw in Mirror of Erised and his vision clouded with unshed tears. With determination he forced the aching thoughts back to his mind and concentrated on the old book in his hand. He turned to the next page and sighed when read the title 'Summarized Transfiguration by Lydia Leblanc'. . Transfiguration, unlike Defense, was not Harry's favorite subject. In last four years he found Transfiguration a complicated and a demanding subject and thus did not excel in it. But this summer he had a plenty of time to improve his understanding of it, so he decided to start it by reading the book in his hand.

With his new book Harry settled himself on his comfortable bed. He read the entire index and found that it covers nearly every topic related with transfiguration. With interest he opened the fifteenth chapter recommended by his father to Sirius and begun to read. Harry's eyes widen when he read the title of chapter 'Self Transfiguration: Know The Beast Inside You.'

Harry leafed through the chapter. At beginning author had explained in detail the basic magical theory behind the Animagus transformation. Harry never knew that something called as 'tuning of mind' was necessary to do a successful transformation. . In the first three years McGonagall taught them the complicated science and theory involved in inanimate and animate transfigurations. In fourth year she introduced the complicated concept of switching transfiguration. But whatever was given in the old book he was reading was fascinating. He read few more pages and reached a conclusion that if he wanted to understand the concept of N.E.W.T. level Animagus transformation he needed to read the entire book.

Two hours later when Megan entered Harry's room she found him fast asleep with a heavy book half opened and glasses still on his nose. Silently she closed the heavy book and placed it on his study table. With a fond smile she returned back and gently removed Harry's glasses. Megan never saw any teenager behave as good as or responsible as Harry. His mature behavior puzzled Megan. But now in his sleep he looked very young; just like any other kid his age. She straightened the haphazardly thrown quilt around Harry and neatly covered him with it. She kept Harry's glasses on the night stand and stood up to leave but then Harry began to stir in his sleep. His peaceful expression was gone replaced with a troubled one. Beads of sweat started to appear on his temple and then Megan heard a muffled sob. She felt the radiating waves of extreme pain and fear. Megan's heart raced as she tried to think of a way to remove her nephew from depths of darkness. And then she suddenly remembered her mother, Isabella and knew what to do.

It was dark and Harry was running through a graveyard. No one was around there but he could hear screams coming from the end of the graveyard; and he knew whom they belonged to. The creams echoed in his brain and then he ran. He ran until his lungs began to burn and then he saw it, the hideous creature with a snake like face. Harry shuddered when something caught his sight. He saw heaps of bloody mutilated bodies of men, women and children. The laughing, cruel monster was surrounded by these heaps. For the first time in his life Harry felt hopeless; the feeling was much worse than a Dementor's attack. And then the monster named Voldemort looked at Harry with his glowing blood red eyes. He smirked with victory and a searing pain shot through Harry's scar.

"Harry Potter…? It's a pity you are late." said Voldemort with glee.

Harry looked around when he realized no one was screaming; everything looked silent.

"Harry, I think you should join me because no one is left, I killed them all one by and now you are alone" offered Voldemort victoriously.

"No, you are lying…" said Harry as he tried controlled his sobbing.

"I don't lie Harry, just look closely, they are all dead" said Voldemort viciously pointing his wand to his left.

The black fog like smoke cleared and Harry saw them. He saw Sirius, Hermione, Ron and Ginny lying lifeless at the bottom of a tomb.

"NO…" Hot tears began to fall down his cheeks as Harry ran toward his loved ones.

On his way he saw crumbled figures of Cedric, Dumbledore and other Weasleys. But bile rose in his throat when he saw a mutilated black robe clad figure lying face down in pool of blood. Voldemort came forward and with a shove his boots straighten the figure. It was Snape. He spat on him and said maliciously, "Traitor, he chose that old fool over me. He deserved this."

First time in his life he felt sympathy for his potion master. But it faded quickly as he felt a head splitting pain course through his skull. Together the pain in scar and pain of losing every other person he cared for was beyond excruciating. He tried to reach over to his friends but his knees buckled as his legs lost the last beat of strength.

Megan strengthened her hold on Harry as he begun to thrash in his sleep. Unknowingly Harry leaned into her embrace and clutched her gown like a life line. Like her mother she was sitting beside Harry and cradling him like her own child. Her night gown was soaked with his tears and sweat but she did not care for it. She just sat like that until Harry stopped thrashing. With her left hand she stroked his sweat drenched black hairs and hummed a soft tune she remembered from her childhood.

In his dream Harry stopped writhing with pain. When he opened his eyes instead of dark a graveyard he found his nine year old self in a meadow, under a tree, in the arms of his mother. She was singing a melody and he was enjoying it. A wave of pure joy coursed through his mind as Lily tightened her old on him. In the distance he saw a very enthusiastic James in his regal Stag form chasing after a black mangy dog and a brown wolf. With smile he closed his eyes and smelled the sweet scent of vanilla mixed with the freshness of grass coming from his mother. The humming soothed him and he began to fell sleepy in his mother's arm. The residual pain vanished when Lily placed a gentle kiss over his scar. She murmured something but he did not understand it. He just sighed as contentment washed over him.

"Don't worry Harry dear I'm here. You are safe… you are not alone… Everything is fine…" murmured Megan once again and then she felt it, the contentment and joy seeping from Lily's son.

Megan remained until Harry's breathing came back down to normal and he started to snore lightly. She slowly shifted Harry back on the bed; arranged his pillow and quilt. She wanted to stay a while but it was already late and she had some plans for tomorrow. With a heavy heart she stepped away from the bed but before she left, she caressed Harry's tousled hairs and bid him goodnight by kissing his temple. Then she left without locking the door thinking about tomorrow.

Harry awoke to the smell of fried bacons and eggs. He fumbled for his glasses and finally found them on the nightstand. With his glasses on he looked around and checked if he was still in his new room or dreaming. Satisfied with the result he got up, made his bed and rushed into the bathroom.

Megan removed the crisp bacon from the pan and served them onto two plates already containing fried eggs. She added a few pieces of toasts in one plate then filled two glasses with orange juice. She eyed the breakfast with satisfaction and decided to call Harry. She left the kitchen but before she called him a very fresh looking Harry appeared in front her.

"Good Morning Megan" greeted Harry cheerfully. " I'm sorry for being late for breakfast" he added hastily.

"Hey good morning and you are not late. I was just going to call you. Now come before it gets cold" said Megan turning into kitchen. Harry helped her bring the breakfast into the dining room. Megan took the dish without toasts.

For the next few minutes no one talked until they finished their breakfast. Megan was the first who broke the silence. "Harry did you slept well last night?"

Harry looked up and gulped down the eggs he was chewing. He knew he had a nightmare last night but there was nothing unusual about them, so he just nodded.

"Harry, you know you are a bad liar because I was there when you were having the nightmare."

Harry stopped eating as he realized Megan knew about his nightmare. He did not remember anything but still felt guilty and embarrassed for waking Megan from her sleep. He waited to hear something unpleasant from Megan but she remained silent.

"Megan, I'm really sorry for waking you up but I promise that it will never happen again."

"Harry, don't apologize for things that you are not responsible for. The nightmare was not your fault. Things like nightmares happen and there is no shame in asking for help" Megan pause for a while and then continued again. "I tried to wake you from it but you remained trapped so I did something that my mother used to do with me when I had a nightmare. I hugged you tight and sang an old tune. To my surprise it helped a lot and you went peacefully to sleep."

And then Harry remembered everything; the dark graveyard, the monster, the dead bodies, the pain and then the bright meadow where he was with his mother. Harry flushed red when he joined the dots and came to a conclusion.

"Harry, don't be embarrassed, it's normal to be comforted by someone and I am your aunt so I've that right. And if you want to then I'm here to listen to your nightmare. Trust me you will feel better if you talked about it."

Harry knew it was good to reveal your dreams to someone but he knew Megan will not be that person until she accepted the existence of magic. Another wave of guilt crossed his mind but he decided to curb the feeling instead he end up thanking Megan.

"Umm…, thanks Megan but I think I'm not ready to talk about my nightmares, not yet; maybe someday in the future" said Harry with some hesitation.

"That's fine with me Harry" replied Megan with a smile.

Harry chewed the strips of bacon and came with an idea to distract Megan from further questioning.

"Megan, do you mind if I suggest something for today?"

"Sure Harry, go ahead" encouraged Megan.

Harry finished his juice and breakfast and then asked, "I have this feeling since morning that I needed to go somewhere. and do something simple like wander around a park or read some sport magazines. What you say if we visit London today?"

"That's sounds like a good plan Harry. Anyways I'm thinking about visiting London today. My estate agent asked me to meet her over lunch. She needed my signature to clear some bills. I've already told her that I'll be coming with my nephew. Don't worry she is coming with her daughter and who knows maybe she would have black or red hair" teased Megan with an innocent smile.

Harry just grinned and stood to collect their plates. To hide his flush he cleaned the table in a flash and went to the kitchen to wash dirty dishes. Megan just laughed and enjoyed Harry's embarrassment.

A few hours later Harry found himself entering a very expensive looking restaurant. He halted at the door for a moment but Megan gave him an encouraging smile to enter inside. They both were clothed perfectly for a business lunch. Megan was wearing a cream colored skirt with a white blouse and a matching blazer. She looked stunning in her fashionable suite with rectangular glasses and high heels. Harry was wearing a white button down shirt with gray trousers and a matching jacket.

Harry waited until she asked the maitre d' about their reservation. With a charming smile the maitre d' directed them towards a large rectangle table situated near a huge window showing a nice view of London. Harry followed Megan and stopped when she approached a table already occupied by a beautiful woman and a girl with curly black hair.

"Lena, good to see you. . I hope I did not make you wait too long, I know it's a pretty lame excuse but we kind of lost our way in London's traffic" said Megan politely.

"No you did not Megan. We just arrived few minutes ago. Please take seat" offered the woman named Lena.

While this chat was happening Harry was looking through the glass window and thus missed the expression of utter surprise given by Lena's daughter.

Harry's head turned like a whip when he heard a squeal of surprise from the girl at table, "Merlin's Hat Mother, it's him! It's Harry Potter!"

Lena's eyes widen with surprised as she heard her daughter. She looked unbelievably at her daughter first and then towards Megan and Harry.

Like Lena, Megan was also surprised by unexpected development but she chose to remain silent. She pretended nothing unusual happened and took a seat opposite Lena. She nudged Harry to do the same.

Harry obeyed but before he took a seat across the girl he looked around to see if anyone was giving them extra attention but to his relief the restaurant area surrounding their table was empty and remaining customers were sitting much farther away. With a sigh he looked apologetically at Megan and then towards the girl who created the scene. Harry immediately recognized her. He had seen her few times hanging with Ginny, Colin and Luna. He knew for sure that she was a Ravenclaw and her name started with 'R'.

"I think we need a proper introduction first" said Lena eying her daughter with a warning. "Here, this is Rhea Leona McKnight my daughter and Rhea this is my client Dr. Megan Spencer".

"Pleased to meet you Dr. Spencer" said Rhea politely but just waved and grinned at Harry.

"Pleasure is mine Rhea. Please call me Megan. I suppose this is my turn to introduce my company." She looked at Lena and said with a smile, "Rhea is right Lena. Meet Harry James Potter, my nephew and Harry this Ms. Lena McKnight, my Estate Agent."

Lena controlled her excitement and came up with carefully chosen words. "It's really a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Potter. If what I read in the past about you and things my daughter says about you in the last three years are true then I'm really grateful for your deeds. I appreciate your courage to stand against the dark side and if the rumors about the return of you know who are true then I will be happy to help you against him." She eyed Megan for approval but what she found was a total confusion on her beautiful face. She looked lost.

Lena stopped midsentence as Harry slightly shook his head. Puzzled with the signal she ended up in saying, "I'm really sorry for my daughter's earlier behavior but it's really a rare opportunity to see you personally in public."

"It's okay Ms. McKnight I'm kind of used to this type of reaction. And if you want to give credits for unusual stuff happened around me then give it to my parents, my friends and Professor Dumbledore because they were always there to help me."

Megan felt caught in a very strange and unfamiliar place. A moment later she looked at Rhea and asked the obvious question. "Lena, pardon me for asking the obvious but what you are talking about? How do you and your daughter know Harry?" she looked at Harry with confused eyes. She needed some explanation.

Harry took pity on his aunt. He cleared his throat and said quietly "Umm… Megan you remembered what I tried to tell you on the day I arrived at your house? At that time you asked me to show something solid to prove my statement. I think you are in luck today because like me, Rhea and if I'm not wrong then Ms. McKnight too belonged to the magical world. Rhea and I go to same school named Hogwarts, to learn to control our magical abilities." Harry paused for a moment and looked at Rhea and Lena for some support and like a true Ravenclaw both understood quickly.

The revelation stuck Megan like a bombshell and she found herself not ready for it at all. For moment she thought everyone was conspiring against her but then removed the absurd thought from her mind. She opened her mouth for expressing herself but Lena was first.

"I'm sorry Mr. Potter for troubling you. I thought your aunt Megan must know everything about our world. Even I started to think that she is a witch and like me she prefers to pretend as muggle" said Lena with honesty. With a thought she addressed Megan. "Megan I know it's very difficult for you to accept the existence of magic but I think you should trust your nephew. He is telling you the truth dear."

"Thanks Ms. McKnight. Umm, if you don't mind then I needed your help to demonstrate something visual to Megan so she could understand what magic is? I've done it by myself but as you know I'm still an underage so can't help it. Would you do that for me Ms. McKnight?" asked Harry with some hesitation.

Lena nodded at Harry and with smile she opened her handbag. She looked around their table and confirmed that no one was watching them. Then she retrieved a slender nine inch brown wand from her bag. With a whisper she tapped the nearby glass containing water and to Megan's surprise it started to boil. With curiosity Megan hover her hand over the glass and felt the heat from rising steam. With another whisper and tap the water stopped boiling and came back to its normal temperature.

Megan eyes widened as she witnessed the unusual demonstration.

"Mum, why don't you show her some cool transfiguration. They are pretty cool to watch" suggested Rhea with grin.

Harry admired Rhea suggestion and decided to thanks her later.

Megan was searching her brain for some kind scientific reasoning to explain what she just saw but before she say something Lena tapped one of her steel fork and whispered something under her breath. With blink the fork transformed into a steel spoon much different from the others present around their plates.

"Megan, these are just a few simple examples of what we can do with our magic but trust me magic is real. It has several hundred different branches with millions of spells and incantations."

Lena paused when she saw a waiter coming in their direction. With her wand she quickly tapped the transfigured spoon and converted it back into a fork. Just before the waiter reached their table very casually she stashed her wand into her bag and took a sip of the water she had charmed a moment ago.

And then lunch started. As the tables around them began to fill up, Rhea and Lena kept chatting about non-magical things which helped Megan a lot to take a grip over her confused brain. Harry replied occasionally otherwise he remained silent enjoying the tasty food of the expensive restaurant.

When they finished with lunch Lena handed a file to Megan and insisted she read everything. Meanwhile Harry chatted with Rhea who proved to be a good company. To Harry she was talented, nice and witty. Although a Ravenclaw she told him a few incidences where she pulled some hilarious pranks on her house mates and friends which reminded Harry of Fred and George to whom Harry had given his Tri-wizard prize money for opening the prank business. Harry knew if they met Rhea she would be a great asset to their research and innovation. With that in mind he decided to check her interest.

"Rhea do you know Fred and George Weasley?"

"Off course I know them Harry. How can I not? The entire school knows them. They inspire me daily to come up with new pranks. You know in the last three years I was keeping a journal and now it has almost filled with some incredible pranks involving potions, charms, jinks and stuff. In my house no one appreciates my works so I wanted to show it to them but I got nervous whenever I saw them," confessed Rhea hopelessly.

Harry's face lit up when he heard Rhea's confession. "Rhea, I think you are in luck today because I know both of them very well. They are like my brothers and if you are really interested in stuff like pranks then I promise you that I will convince them to meet you. They will be delighted to see you with your ideas."

"Really Harry, You promise?"

"Yes, I mean it Rhea. So tell me more about you and your family" asked Harry casually.

Rhea noticed that there was pretty good distance between her and her mother's chair and same was between Megan and Harry's too. She looked at her mother and found her busy talking with Megan. She took the advantage and silently pushed her chair farther away from her mother. She signaled Harry to do the same. With a puzzled expression Harry obeyed Rhea's wired request by scooting away from Megan.

Rhea looked nervous for some reason but then she reasoned with her own mind that it will be safe to reveal the information about her family to Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. Maybe he could help her in her mission.

She lowered her voice a bit and answered Harry. Harry, I live with my mother in St. Albans. She is a witch but she generally avoids use of magic around our house. She deliberately bought our house right in the middle of a muggle town. I don't know if it is appropriate or not to share something personal now, after all it is our first meeting, but I have a feeling that you will be the most perfect person for this talk.

Harry felt uncomfortable by Rhea's unyielding faith in him. He just nodded at her to continue. She confirmed that her mother was still busy and not listening to them. "Harry I've a great uncle named Edward McKnight. Actually he is my mother's maternal uncle but he always loved me like a granddaughter. Unfortunately, he is a squib. In the muggle world he is well known as a successful businessman. Three year ago he offered my mother a partnership in his business which she accepted and moved in St. Albans before which we lived in Wales with Uncle Ed. Just before I joined Hogwarts, Uncle Ed told me a very fascinating story about my mother's past. According to him in the last war my mother and her elder brother joined a secrete group to fight against You Know Who. They were brave and the best in dueling but one day something went wrong and some Death Eaters attacked their house. They murdered every member of her family including her brother. Somehow she managed to escape with some fatal injuries to her head. She contacted Uncle Ed at the time who with the help of muggle doctors nursed her back to her health but she lost her memory due to severe head injuries. In that war she did not only lose her entire family but also a fiancé. Because of her memory loss she never remembered who he was or what happened to him. She only knew that her fiancé loved her and the child she was carrying belonged to him. So a few months later she gave birth to me and raised me as a single mother. As time passed she remembered only a few things and one of them was the fear of getting caught by some dark wizards. She legally changed her name from Marlene Eleanor McKinnon to Lena Elena McKnight and remained in hiding for years even after you defeated You Know Who."

Harry felt a rush of sympathy for both Rhea and Lena. He felt an anger smoldering like a fire inside him. He wanted to destroy Voldemort and his minions severely for devastating so many lives. His stomach began to churn as the guilt of becoming instrumental in Voldemort's resurrection clouded his senses.

Rhea sensed the distressful changes in Harry. He looked tensed. "Harry, are you alright?" asked Rhea gently.

Harry heard Rhea's question and became aware of his surroundings. "I'm really sorry Rhea foe your mother's loss, and yours. I appreciate that you chose me to share your story Rhea."

"Thanks Harry and please don't worry because I know that one day you will get that monster and end this war once and forever." She paused a moment and then added, "Harry I know it is absurd but I think my dad is still alive and for some reason Uncle Ed is hiding his identity from us. I'm sharing this with you because I want to find my father and unlike me you know and have a pretty good access to many witches and wizards who might fight the last war. So maybe your resourcefulness will be helpful in my quest."

Harry was quite surprised to hear Rhea's clever plan. He knew people either liked or despised him for his celebrity status but he himself never liked it. He considered it very sneaky, a basic trait of Slytherins to use his own name or fame to ask for some kind of favor.

"You are pretty clever Rhea. Frankly speaking I can't promise you anything but I'll try my best to contribute in your quest. May be I'll discuss this with Hermione. She has a knack for solving puzzles."

"Oh Harry, I don't have words to describe my excitement. I'm really happy for your support but please don't tell my mother. I want to surprise her by finding her lost love."

Rhea stopped talking as she saw Megan closed the file with a smile. Lena smiled in return and both women shook each other's hand. Both women eyed the distinctly sitting teenagers. Megan was first who grinned mischievously.

"Got something interesting to discuss Harry? I never imagined that I will be seeing one of your lady friends today."

"Hey, this is the first time I've ever spoken to Rhea and we are discussing some school stuff over here, nothing else." Harry managed a lie without blushing this time.

A moment later Lena paid the bill. She bid her goodbye after promising to remain in touch with both Harry and Megan. Rhea mimicked her mother and followed her out of Restaurant.

Once they gone Megan looked at Harry with concern and said firmly, "Harry we really need to talk about this dark wizard. You are a child and not allowed to put yourself in any kind of danger to save the world. If necessary I'm going to kidnap you so you could be safe from this dangerous wizard."

Harry was not expecting Megan to be this protective about him. At the look on Megan's face, one that said she would send him a howler if she knew what one was, he replied immediately, "Yes, I agree Megan. We really need to talk."

Nearly three hours later Harry and Megan returned to their house in Aisleton. On their way they stopped at a Florist plus Plant breeding shop. They bought some plantlets and seeds of flowering plants, many packets of fertilizers and some garden tools. Once home Megan parked her car in the garage. Then walked to main door, opened it and entered inside.

Harry followed Megan inside. He saw her coat hooked on the coat hanger. With a smile he went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water but as soon as he entered the kitchen he forgot about the water. What he saw shocked him to the core. He found his aunt's bound, unmoving body lying over the wooden floor of the kitchen. In a flash, without a second thought he drew his wand from his jacket and aimed on left side of Megan's fallen body, where he came face to face with a very menacing figure of Professor Severus Snape.

 **VVVVVVVVVVVV**

A/N: I would like to thank those who reviewed the last chapter. Your reviews inspired me to write this chapter. So please don't forget to review this chapter too.

Now the bad news is I will not be posting any new chapter until the 1st of July. I need some time to prepare for my exam. So don't get mad or upset just keep reading and posting. Enjoy until next update.


	4. No Turning Back

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **VVVVVV**

 **Chapter Four**

 **NO Turning Back**

Believe it or not but Severus Snape saw them. He was just leaving the Greenhouse when Harry Potter entered. For the whole school year Snape had been keeping an eye on Harry and his arrogant friends pulling some foolishly heroic stunts; but it was over as summer started which freed Snape to perform his other duties which he was enjoying until this moment. He did not expect to see Harry in such an unlikely place as like Mr. Thomas's Green house especially when he was not at all allowed to leave his house in Surrey. With a huff he cursed Dumbledore and other Order members for not keeping a close eye on Potter. Snape wanted to leave but the old obligation kept him there and he stayed behind a very tall cactus, to find out what Potter was doing there.

Severus observed the unusually content Harry Potter for the next few minutes until he got distracted by the entrance of a woman wearing big sunglasses and a hat. From his distance he did not identify her but something about her caught his interest. He watched the woman with curiosity who very causally approached Harry and then together they chatted and chose many garden plants along with few roses and carnations. Severus remained there patiently and then it happened. The woman with Harry removed her sunglasses and Severus's heart stopped beating. He could not believe it; he was seeing an older version of Lily; his Lily. For a moment he wanted to rush and meet his best friend but his ever thoughtful mind restrained him from doing so as he realized the oddity of the situation. He remembered the last time when he held the cold lifeless body of his dearest friend. He wanted to believe that it might be true that Lily came back from the dead but he also knew that it was only possible by doing something very dark which Lily would never choose to do. Thus he remained in the shadows closely observing the mysterious woman in an attempt to identify who she was. And a moment later he got answers as he caught the difference. The woman had different eyes and hair than Lily. She had a much pointed chin and an aquiline nose. Those differences were enough for Severus to conclude that the woman he was watching was not Lily but someone else who had Harry Potter under her control.

The moment Harry and Megan left the greenhouse Severus Snape followed them after putting a disillusionment charm on himself and his broom. Once they reached the house he did not wait to admire its beauty instead he forced his entry through the door which opened through garage. Still in disillusionment he hid himself in kitchen until his target came. And then she came. Severus watched her open the door of the refrigerator and removed two cans of chilled cola. She opened one and kept the other on the table nearby. She took a sip of her drink and stopped. She turned around and Severus saw the change of expression on her face. She looked startled as well as confused. Severus knew she saw him. So before she made any noise he stunned her and then secured her tightly with magical ropes. He was thinking of using Legilimency when he heard footstep and then came face to face with a very fuming and confused Harry Potter.

"SNAPE..? WHAT THE HELLDID YOU DO TO HER?" Harry cried out in anger. He was not expecting anyone let alone Snape wearing white button-down shirt with black trousers and his long hair tied back in a neat pony tail. He did not remember when he retrieved his wand out of his pocket but apparently he was pointing it at his professor. He gripped his wand tightly as the dubious thoughts of Snape betraying Dumbledore for Voldemort clouded his judgment.

"Potter, restrain your disrespectful tongue and childish thoughts this instant. If you do not lose your foolish behavior you will end up on the floor like this imposter here" snarled Snape at Harry.

Harry wanted to free Megan but also knew the dangers of attacking his very skilled Professor. So in a feat of frustration he yelled without lowering his wand, "NO … You listen to me Snape. This is not Hogwarts and she is not an imposter. So release her and get out of our house".

Snape heard Harry's suicidal challenge and came with harsh reply, "Potter, you pathetic imbecile; I always knew you are as thick headed as your father and godfather but what you are doing this moment is beyond my imagination." For a moment Snape scrutinized the still figure of Megan and then continued, "I was wrong when I assumed that you know the concept of sacrifices. After so many people lost their lives to keep you safe how could you so senselessly put yourself in danger by submitting yourself to this imposter? She is not your mother Potter."

Harry clenched his teeth as he heard his Professor's accusations which were slightly true. He did not like it but to free Megan he needed to explain his side to a person he did not believe at all. He lowered his wand and decided to talk. "I don't know what your problem is but I know exactly what a sacrifice means and I'm not violating my safety by living with this woman who I happen to know much better than you. I also know that she is not my mother or her imposter because she is real and her name is Megan. She looks like my mother because they were twins. Megan is my aunt."

Now it was Snape's turn to get surprised. "No, it's impossible. Other than Petunia, Lily did not have any sister."

"And how you are so sure about that?" asked Harry narrowing his eyes.

Snape stared at Harry as he recognized his mistake. His mental defenses weakened as Harry expectantly looked at him with those emerald eyes which haunted him for nearly two decades and then Snape decided to do something he never did before. "Potter, I know this woman is lying because I knew Lily and her family very well. We were neighbors. Lily and I were friends and grew up together."

Harry heard his Professor and was surprised by the revelation. He found the idea of Snape being his mother's friend extremely weird. He never thought that Snape who always ridiculed his father would talk in such a civil manner about his mother. For a moment he saw a flash of pain across Snape's face and realized Snape was telling him the truth.

"I'm sorry professor, but I never knew that my mother and you were friends. No one mentioned it to me." Harry paused for moment and then added with some hesitation, "Um… I don't know if you can use Veritaserum on a muggle or not but if you ask her nicely then I'm sure Megan will agree to use it and tell you same that she told me."

"And that is another sign that proves she is not Lily's twin because if they are twins then it is impossible that only Lily had magic and this woman doesn't. And Potter how do you know that she is not a witch? What if she is just lying and secretly taking orders from the Dark Lord to kidnap you or may be doing worst?"

"Oh, come on Professor, she is not what you are trying to suggest. If she wanted to harm me then she could have done it already but she hasn't. So please release her now or I'll do it myself", said Harry impatiently. He came close to Megan and kneeled down to release her but before he could incant anything Snape intervened.

" _Expelliarmus_..!" whispered Snape and swiftly disarmed Harry.

"What the hell! Give me back my wand Snape" Harry exclaimed with irritation.

"Don't be a fool Potter. You are still underage and forbidden to use magic outside of school. Don't forget the Dark Lord has his spies in the Ministry and they will trace your location within minutes"

"Fine, no magic but I can't see her bound like this" and with that Harry got up and found a knife to cut the binds around Megan.

Snape watched silently as Harry struggled to release Megan. Snape did not need any Legilimency to know what going through Harry's mind. To Snape the boy was an emotional wreck who wore his heart on his sleeves just like his mother, Lily. For the last four years he relentlessly hated the boy, he used every opportunity to discourage him but somehow Harry gained a special place in his heart. Snape never admitted it to anyone but as the year passed he began to realize that Harry was much similar to Lily than his father James and that made his task of hating him very difficult. With a jerk Snape got rid of his redundant emotions and came up with a thoughtful suggestion.

"Potter stop struggling with those ropes and listen to me."

Snape's sudden statement startled Harry.

"Stop gawking Potter, you look terrible with that expression. What I'm saying is I'll release and revive her but not immediately. Give me a moment and I will return with Dumbledore as well as Veritaserum. I believe you are capable of watching over her for a few more minutes. Now stop trying to cut those magical cords with simple knife and let me transfer her somewhere comfortable."

"Um… okay" agreed Harry hesitatingly.

Harry watched as Snape levitated Megan gently and carried her towards the main hall. Harry followed him until he laid her on a couch. There was a duel going on in Harry's mind. On the one hand knew it was cruel to keep Megan bound like a convict but on the other he was supporting Snape's paranoia. If by any chance Megan turned out to have some dangerous motives like fake Moody during the Tri-wizard Tournament then he would have to be prepared for the worst.

Snape was just ready to Apparate away when Harry suddenly remembered about his wand. "Professor, you have my wand."

"Yes and you perfectly know why it is with me Potter" Snape replied coldly.

"But what if someone attacked us? What if you are late? I mean look at Megan right now she can't help." Harry tried to convince his Professor.

Snape arched his eyebrow. He knew it was not a right thing to do knowing Harry's dislike for following rules but he could not neglect what Harry was suggesting too. With a sigh he removed Harry's wand from his trouser pocket and gave it back to him but not without fixing Harry with a glare that promised thousands of detentions if Harry misused the wand. And with that Snape Apparated away with a faint pop.

Harry's jaws dropped as he saw the Apparition for the very first time. He remembered Ron telling him about Apparition in their second year but still Harry found it amazing. He searched his brain to do something until Snape returned with Dumbledore but found nothing. He felt lonely and useless. He wished Ron and Hermione were there so he could discuss the weird things happening around him. He missed Hedwig too and decided to call her back in the morning. With a sigh he took a seat on the wingchair nearby and watched Megan guiltily from there.

As the minutes passed Harry became anxious. He tried to calm his mind as it began to fill with thoughts of Snape coming with Voldemort instead of Dumbledore. He twirled his wand and recited the incantation for defense spells he was collecting in his project book. A few more minutes passed and he was yanked from his thoughts by two consecutive pops inside the house. From instinct he jumped from his seat and pointed his wand in direction of the popping sound, but to his surprise instead of Voldemort he found a very serene looking Albus Dumbledore followed by Snape.

"Harry, I'm glad to see you. How you are doing, my boy?" greeted Dumbledore with a smile.

"Um... I'm fine Professor" replied Harry sheepishly. It never occurred to him that it would be easy if he already had told Dumbledore about his changed living arrangement. "I'm sorry Professor, I should have told you about this."

"Indeed but I'm happy that you are fine Harry. In my experience sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry" the old wizard replied seriously."Now Harry I like would you to tell me how exactly you ended up here? Try not to conceal any detail."

"Okay. It was last Saturday when Megan, meaning, Dr. Megan Spencer visited us, that is aunt Petunia and me at Number Four, Private Drive. She told us that she was from the States and now living here in Aisleton. She told us the story about how my grandmother accidently hurt a woman named Isabella Spencer who lost her baby in that accident. So as redemption my grandparents convinced the Spencers to adopt one of their unborn twins in near the future, which they did and took Megan with them. Last year Megan was informed by her dying mother about her adoption as well as the whereabouts of her birth parents. So she came here to meet her biological family. After a month of searching she found Aunt Petunia's address and found me there. Petunia did not believe her first but Megan showed her certain certificates confirming she is my mother's twin sister. Then she offered Petunia to look after me until they return from their vacation trip which off course did not include me. And that's all; I ended up here, enjoying my summer for the first time."

Dumbledore patted Harry's shoulder sympathetically. He always regretted his own decision of keeping Harry in Petunia's care. He never thought a woman could hate her own nephew with such intensity. He knew Harry deserved much better than what he got from his harsh life. He always wanted to see Harry happy but his destiny had something else in store for him. The old wizard wanted to rectify his mistakes and to do that he needed a chance, which, if he was correct, was lying on a couch just opposite to him.

"Headmaster, if you allow me, we can use Veritaserum" asked Snape to a very thoughtful looking Dumbledore.

"Severus, I'm afraid but Veritaserum might have some prolonged side effects on her. I think we should use other ways first" said Dumbledore observing Megan through his half-moon glasses.

With a thought Dumbledore approached Megan and kneeled down so that he could keep his wrinkled hand on Megan's temple. He closed his eyes and began to whisper something. Harry didn't know what Dumbledore was doing but he felt glad that it was him and not Snape. Harry was quite amazed when he saw a faint bluish sphere of light encircling both of their heads. The sphere remained there for the next ten minutes and then it was gone. Without saying anything Dumbledore stood up and with a tap of his wand removed Megan's restrains.

With a cheerful smile Dumbledore looked at Harry and said, "Harry you are right about her and fortunately she is who she has been telling everyone. She is not only Lily's twin sister but also a remarkable woman. And I'm happy for you that she found you. Now I think this is a very good time to meet her properly and knew her opinion about forcing ourselves in her life. What do you suggest Severus?"

"Indeed, a very correct time!"replied Snape. He looked at Harry and said in very neutral voice, "Potter, come here. It will be better that she see you first."

Harry obeyed Snape and took a seat on the edge of the Tea-table directly facing Megan.

" _Rennervate_ " incanted Snape from such an angle that kept him out from Megan's direct line of sight; the red light emitted from Snape's wand and Megan woke with a gasp.

The first thing Megan saw after she woke up was a very startled looking Harry. She was quite surprised to find herself half lying on the couch. The last thing she remembered was drinking cola in her kitchen when she kind of sensed or saw someone in there but then a bright light came from nowhere and she blacked out.

"Harry, Are you alright? How did I end up here? What happened to me?" asked Megan sitting properly on her couch and then she saw two men standing away from her couch; one of them was very old and wore very strange looking century old robes. The other was normal but had a stern look on his face.

"Harry who are they?" asked Megan with a shock.

"Megan, please calm down. I know them very well. They are from my school and they came here to see me."

Megan heard her nephew and then the words 'Magic and Hogwarts' popped in her mind. She felt embarrassed for not welcoming his nephew's unexpected guests. With a jolt she left the couch and confronted her unusual guests. "I'm sorry for my tardiness; please take seat Mr. umm..?" Megan searched for a name but found nothing.

With a sigh Harry rescued her from the difficulty. "Megan they are my Professors. This is Headmaster Albus Dumbledore" introduced Harry.

Megan greeted the old wizard with half-moon glasses with a welcoming smile. "Mr. Dumbledore, please take a seat. I thought Harry was just kidding when he mentioned your name first."

"I'm afraid he is telling you the truth Ms. Spencer. It was us who never believed that one day we will be seeing Lily's twin sister. You quite surprised us Ms. Spencer" replied Dumbledore cheerfully. He selected the wingchair to sit and waved at Severus who still looked suspicious.

"Oh and this is Professor Severus Snape. He teaches Potions at Hogwarts" Harry introduced his Potions Master with a forced smile.

Megan observed her second guest with an interest. To her he looked intimidating, a very challenging personality she always liked to deal with and then she remembered him.

"Harry, I think he was the one who attacked me in the kitchen" revealed Megan keeping his arm protectively around Harry's shoulder.

"Megan don't worry I know he was the one who did that but it was not an attack. He used a spell which put you into a sleeplike condition. " replied Harry staring at Snape with an accusing glare.

"Potter, do not expect me to apologize because I will not. Anyways if she really cares for you then she will appreciate that I did it to confirm that you are not in any danger" Snape replied spitefully.

"Harry, does your Professor always behave this charmingly in your classes too?" asked Megan with a sarcastic smile.

Harry just snorted in return and gained a glare from his irritated Potion Master.

"Headmaster, if you don't mind I would like to leave. It seems I have been wasting my time here." asked Snape curtly.

"Now now Severus I think you should accompany me, after all I'm old and who knows I miss something important that your young mind will capture. Now why don't you take a seat and join us? "

Megan was surprised to see Snape obeying the wish of old the wizard without any protest and occupy the other wingchair. Although Megan's mind was spinning with the thoughts of unexpected events occurring around her she did not miss the word 'danger' in Snape's little tirade. She knew if she wanted to look after Harry then she must know what exactly the term danger involves. Her thoughts were interrupted when Dumbledore addressed Megan.

"I apologize Ms. Spencer on behalf of Severus, for restraining you in such a way. You see, not only Severus but we all are paranoid after the dreadful events of last year. When Severus accidently saw you interacting with Harry this afternoon he thought you were an imposter taking advantage of Harry's vulnerability. He thought you were faking being Lily just like Barty Crouch Jr. who took the place of one of our teachers. At the end he succeeded in transporting Harry and Cedric out of school boundaries into a graveyard where Harry was forced to see the death of Cedric as well as the resurrection of Voldemort, who until now killed many innocent muggle and magical people including Lily, James and your biological parents too. And now he is after Harry so we are trying our best to keep him safe."

Megan was stunned by what she heard from Dumbledore. She had never thought that coming to London would cause her little happiness and so much of pain. The thought of someone tearing down her family bit by bit made her livid. Her head had begun to revolve around the thoughts of taking Voldemort down.

Megan sat down on the couch as the feeling of loss pierced her heart. Megan did not feel this sad in her whole life. She looked up when she felt a comforting touch on her shoulder. It was Harry. She saw his emerald eyes clouded with tears and then felt the similar pain twisting both of their hearts. But somehow she knew this was not a proper time to mourn for deaths of their dear ones, it was a time to protect and cherish what they had left. She looked at Dumbledore with determination and decided to confess her thoughts.

"Mr. Dumbledore, I think Mr. Snape did what he deemed necessary. Until this moment I did not know what was real, I felt like I had reached the end of my wits. No offense but I was kind of skeptical about all this magic stuff. Harry did try to introduce me to his world of magic; he also warned me about the dangers of the magical world he was living in. He told me to think thoroughly before promising him any kind of shelter. I neglected his warning and decided to keep him with me. But now I think it necessary to take those warnings seriously…" Megan paused as an unknown fear of losing everything she had tried to grip her mind. She once again felt her ever logical brain begin to question the reality of fiction and fairy tales over the fact. But then she felt the warmth of Harry's hand spreading through her shoulder. She felt hope saturating her and that was enough for her to realize that it did not matter if she believed only in scientifically proven facts or not, at the end it was the lives of people she should care for and to do so if she needed to accept the existence of magic then she was fine with it.

Harry watched as his newly found aunt reached towards a decision. Somehow he knew unlike Petunia, Megan would never abandon him and then he heard the most impossible words he ever imagined. "What will happen if I adopted Harry and chose to live in Australia or Brazil? What will happen if Harry were to disappear somewhere in China or India?"

"I should say it is a very tempting option Ms. Spencer but the condition we are living in will not allow it" Dumbledore commented gravely.

"But, why not?" asked Megan still clinging to some hopes.

"It is not possible because, the Dark Lord will hunt down every single muggle and magical life that he knows has any association with Potter" answered Snape in a factual tone. He did not stop there instead he looked at Megan and asked with a smirk, "are you sure that Potter's Gryffindor courage and pride is ready to bear the burden of losing everyone because of him?"

"No need to be so harsh Professor, she is just suggesting something that makes sense to her. But you are right about one thing that being related to me is dangerous, my parents and Cedric's deaths proved that fact. Anyways I'm not that sneaky to use my friends and family to save my own hide. If Voldemort ever confronts me I won't go down without a fight. " defended Harry.

Dumbledore ignored Snape's scowl over Harry's 'sneaky' comment as his mind began to resolve the interwoven threads of odd memories he found buried in Megan's mind. He saw few very old memories which evoked his interest. In those he found unusual things which generally happened around any normal magical child were happening around her too. He already had his doubts as he knew Lily was her twin sister who had a very strong magical core but what intrigued him was how and when Megan lost her magic. Oh and it was not the end of his amazement because he also found few recent memories which involve done more person who he thought was dead in the first wizarding war.

"Albus, is something there we should be concern about?" asked Severus worriedly. He knew Dumbledore enough to know the meaning of his silence.

Dumbledore looked up and smiled at Severus. With a thought he looked at Megan who sat beside Harry and said, "Ms. Spencer, what would you say if I suggest to you that, when you were a child you had a magic but then as you grew up you lost your abilities and according to my theory there is a possibility, that you still have a slumbering magical core which means you still have a chance to awaken your magic."

"No, it's impossible! It's Harry who has magic not me" replied Megan incredulously. She could not believe her ears. A few days ago she considered psychiatric treatment for her nephew when he told her about magic but now when she finally accepted that magic is real the old man dropped a bombshell and told her that she could be a witch too.

"Wait a minute, what you are suggesting is Megan will be a witch once her core gets activated?" asked an excited Harry. He was thrilled by what he just heard.

"No, there must be a mistake Harry, how I can be a witch when I never knew magic was real?" said Megan trying to deny Dumbledore's theory.

"Ms. Spencer don't you think your being magical will help you and Harry in the long run? Don't forget you have already chosen ruthless enemies by taking Harry's side. We are heading towards a war Ms. Spencer; therefore I suggest you rethink your choices."

Megan understood what Dumbledore was trying to suggest. She was smart enough to understand the meaning of war. No one knew but she always had a strange liking for adventures and what she was going through was one of the biggest that ever happened to her. As a result she was ready to take care of her nephew and if possible to meet this maniac named Voldemort who destroyed her family.

Megan glanced at a very hopeful looking Harry and declared her decision. "Mr. Dumbledore I don't know how feasible this possibility is but if it is going to help Harry then I'm ready to try it."

Snape was impressed by Megan's devotion but what caught his interest was Dumbledore's determination to achieve something that Severus had never had seen or heard of. The idea was so fascinating that he found himself unable to hold his curiosity, so he asked, "Indulge me Albus, but how exactly will you be achieving this?"

"Off course, with your help Severus. You see, to awaken Ms. Spencer's magic I will be performing a very rarely known ritual which needs a complicated Potion, a spell and a simple ritual" replied Dumbledore cheerfully making Snape to scowl.

Dumbledore ignored Snape as he addressed Harry with the same cheerful smile. "Oh and Harry I need you to help Severus in brewing this Potion. It is necessary that this Potion be ready on the night of the full moon. And if I'm correct then you only have seven days to brew this Potion."

"Albus, I don't need Potter's excellent Potion skills to brew this potion" taunted Snape with a sneer.

Harry opened his mouth to protest but Dumbledore stopped him on time. "Trust me Severus but you will need Harry's help once you read the ingredients required for this Potion. Oh and I forgot to tell you that you need to brew this potion in this house for its maximum effect."

Severus narrowed his eyes as his mind began to predict the potion he would be brewing. And then he remembered a Potion he once heard about. It was a blood essence potion which generally needs to be brewed in the vicinity of people to influence its properties. He wanted to know more about the potion but decided to do it afterward when he was alone with Dumbledore.

"Now from tomorrow onwards Severus will be here to brew this potion, but I want you both to be around this potion until it matures completely" explained Dumbledore with an ease.

"Is that all we are needed for?"asked Megan hesitantly. She felt strange about having Snape in her house for Seven days.

"Apparently that's all. Once the potion matures we will discuss about the final ingredient. Now we must be leaving Ms. Spencer."

Dumbledore looked at Harry and removed a thin golden chain with a small Phoenix pendant. He tapped his wand tip on the pendant and incanted a long string of Latin words. He waited until the glow surrounding the pendant disappeared. And then he offered it to Harry and said, "Harry I know you feel safe here but just for my sake wear this around your neck. If you find yourself in any trouble just hold the pendant for few seconds and you will be helped."

"Thank you Professor," said Harry as he accepted and wore the beautiful Phoenix locket around his neck, he liked it immediately.

And then both Dumbledore and Snape disappeared in thin air leaving behind an astounded Megan and a very happy Harry Potter.

 **VVVVVVVVVVVV**

A/N: Dear readers, sorry for taking so much time to post this chapter. Hope you will enjoy this chapter too.


	5. Preparations

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **Author's Note:** Really Sorry for taking so much time for posting this chapter. As salvation I tried my best to write a longest chapter until yet; hope you will read and enjoy it.

 **VVVVVV**

 **Chapter Five**

 **Preparations**

Harry and Megan were tired after investing most of their morning in cleaning and digging the front yard for planting new roses and carnations they bought yesterday. It was almost noon when Megan finally finished her work and decided to have lunch.

On her way to the house she nudged Harry who had been moving the heaps of dead grass and leaves into a pit dug at the far end of the garden. She admired Harry's devotion and hard work. She felt a wave of pride and compassion for her orphan nephew. And she knew if she did not stop him, he would finish everything before sunset. "Hey, enough of gardening Harry, it's time for lunch. It was great but I think we did plenty of work for today and I'm starving. Go, clean up and join me in the kitchen. I'm thinking of making some sandwiches for us."

"Yeah, the garden looks pretty good now. Oh and those rose bushes will flourish in no time" said Harry looking at the center of the garden where Megan planted a few roses. He dusted off the twigs and dry leaves clinging to his old jeans and t-shirt that he wore for today's work. On his way he wound up the hose pipe Megan was using to water the plants and said, "You go on Megan, I need a shower; I've got too much dirt on me."

"Okay" said Megan and gone to house.

Harry left the front yard and went upstairs to freshen up. Once in the bathroom he discarded his dirty clothes in the laundry basket and took a quick shower to clean himself. In a minute he changed into a pair of fresh T-shirt and was just leaving his room when he heard a crack followed by Megan's scream. Without a thought he grabbed his wand and ran downstairs but what he saw there made him laugh. It was Dobby.

"Harry, stay away, it looks dangerous" warned a very frightened Megan.

Harry guessed from Megan's clean look that she had taken a shower too and was just going to the kitchen when she saw Dobby appear out of nowhere. What Harry found most amusing was the look on Dobby's face. He looked much more startled than Megan.

"Megan, don't be scared, he is my friend, Dobby. He is a house elf" said Harry with a chuckle.

"Master Harry Potter Sir is a great wizard. He called Dobby his friend," croaked Dobby and began to cry loudly.

"He is your friend. Are sure about this Harry?" asked Megan observing the weird creature.

"Yes, Megan he is my friend. Now come here and meet him."

"Dobby, stop crying and meet my aunt Megan."

Dobby dabbed his eyes with his tea cozy and looked up to see Megan.

"Dobby is happy to meet Mistress Megan" said Dobby with a smile which forced Megan to take a step backward.

Harry ignored Megan's reaction and distracted Dobby by asking, "Dobby, why are you here? Who sent you here?"

"Master Dumbledore told Dobby to fix a Potion lab here. But Dobby does not know the room."

Fortunately Harry knew a perfect room for brewing Potions. "Megan is it okay with you if we use the empty room above the garage as a Potion lab."

"Sure Harry, anyways it was meant to be a playroom but lab sounds good. Oh and if possible take a look at the bedroom next to yours. I'm thinking of giving that bedroom to Professor Snape if he wants to stay here."

"Megan, you are kidding right" asked Harry in disbelief.

"Harry I know you don't like your Professor but he will be here to help us, so it's our duty to offer him room if he chooses to live here for the time being."

"Okay Megan, but don't blame me if you want to throw him out once he begins to sneer at you too" Harry tried to warned Megan, but Megan just smiled at him and went into the kitchen.

"Let's go upstairs Dobby; we have a room to prepare for our beloved Potion Master."

Once upstairs Harry showed the bedroom next to his which Dobby cleaned in no time. He changed the color of the walls from shades of yellow to blue and gray. He even freshened up the bed covers and window curtains. With a snap of his fingers the room filled with a faint fragrance of Lavender. Harry opened the window and looked at the old Maple tree, the view looked fabulous.

"Wow, nice work Dobby, I don't know about Snape but I liked this room. Now let's see what you can do with a lab."

"Yes, Dobby liked it too Master Harry Potter Sir" replied the elf with a big smile.

Through the corridor between the four bedrooms Harry lead Dobby towards a room at the end. He opened the door and found a medium sized empty room with walls and a floor made with black stones. Other than the two windows on the opposite walls the room had nothing in it. Harry let Dobby come inside and walked around the room for a minute before he began his work.

Harry watched Dobby with astonishment as he used his elf magic to summon wooden cabinets, shelves, a long table and four wooden stools. Once he arranged everything properly he created a medium sized sink with a tap in one corner and solved the problem of the washing area.

"Wow! It is really amazing Dobby. I bet Snape will love this lab. It is much better than what we have in the Hogwarts Dungeons."

"Master Professor Dumbledore loaned all the furniture and also told Dobby how to arrange it. Now Dobby must leave Master Harry Potter Sir" replied Dobby with a satisfaction. He looked around one more time and then vanished with crack before Harry said goodbye.

A few minutes later Harry reached the kitchen where he found Megan ready with her sandwiches. He opened the fridge and removed a juice carton. He filled up two glasses and placed them at the small table which Megan decided to use as dining table.

"Where is Dobby Harry? I made an extra sandwich for him too." said Megan offering fresh looking sandwiches to Harry.

"Oh, he went back to school" said Harry taking a bite of his sandwich. It was delicious. Harry liked the taste of fried ham with cheese and lettuce. He was so hungry that he finished it in no time.

Megan tasted her own sandwich and asked the question she was itching to ask. "Harry, what exactly Dobby is? I mean you said he is an Elf, but what exactly does that mean?"

Harry smiled as he found Megan as curious as Hermione. "Okay, let's see how much I know about elf is a magical non-human creature created by Wizards to serve them. Other than Hogwarts, only rich and pureblood wizarding families own elves, where they work like slaves." Harry took a sip of his juice and continued. "Before joining Hogwarts Dobby worked for the Malfoy family who treated him very cruelly. Although he was desperate to leave the Malfoys, he had no choice until he was freed by his master by offering him clothes. I don't know why but two years ago he tried to save me from Voldemort so in return I managed to free him from the Malfoys. From that year onward he became my friend and now enjoys his status as a free elf. He now works happily in the Kitchens of Hogwarts,but unlike the hundreds of other elves working there, Dobby asked Dumbledore to pay him one Galleon per week and one day off each month which Dumbledore complied with happily."

"I must say he is a brave little thing Harry and you did a good job of freeing him."

"It's nothing as compared to Hermione, my best friend, she has been campaigning for elves rights for a year now. She even founded a group named Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, shortly the S.P.E.W."

Megan was impressed by this girl named Hermione. "That's wonderful Harry. I'd like to meet this girl one day."

"Yes, you should meet her as well as Ron my other friend." Harry almost finished his second sandwich and juice when he remembered something "Megan, do you mind if sometime next week I invite Ron and Hermione over here."

"Oh, sure Harry, I would love to have them here. If possible we can go for fishing and visit this old castle that I heard about. Oh and we can invite Lena and Rhea too if you'd like. "

"Sure, why not, it will be fun. Oh but I need Hedwig to send them invitations."

Harry explained further as he saw the confusion on Megan's face. "Hedwig is my pet owl. She is a magical owl, specially trained to send letters and other stuff."

"A magical owl…! Sounds weird but I'm okay with it. Harry does Hogwarts offers any scratch course on Introduction to Magical World. If yes then I'm really interested in it."

Harry just chuckled but before he gave any reply he heard a popping noise announcing Snape's arrival.

Megan ignored the belched look on Harry's face and said "Come on Harry, don't give me that look. Just try to tolerate him for few days and it will be over. Now come, it's not good to make him wait."

With heavy steps Harry accompanied Megan to the main hall where he saw Snape standing as stoically as ever with a medium sized trunk. Harry appreciated the fact that Snape did not come in his bat like appearance in front of Megan. Harry would never admit this but he liked this different looking Snape with a neatly tucked white button down shirt with charcoal gray trousers. He looked much more human without the greasy curtains of his hair. The change was so evident that Harry had to curb his desire to snap a photograph of his muggle looking Professor.

"Welcome Mr. Snape. I think Harry and his friend Dobby took care of your lab and guestroom if you would like to stay here" informed Megan politely.

"Thank you Ms. Spencer and yes it will be more convenient if I stay here" replied Snape curtly. He scowled at Harry when he saw a teasing smile lingering on his face.

Megan saw the interaction between Harry and Snape but decided to ignore it."It's Megan, Mr. Snape. I don't like much of formalities, so please try to call me Megan" insisted Megan.

"I'll try Ms. Spencer, I mean Megan" obliged Snape to his own surprise.

Megan looked at Harry and said, "Harry, why don't you show Professor Snape his lab and bedroom? I've got work to finish. Call me if you need me."

Harry just nodded and addressed his Potion Master, "This way Professor."

Snape followed Harry silently until they reached upstairs. Harry turned back to see if his Professor was following him or not. To his surprise he found Snape standing still with very serious expression on his face. He knew that expression.

"Potter, I'll say this just once. If I find you playing any kind of prank around me or I catch you doing something stupid, I'll punish you." Snape paused for moment and then continued, "And keep in mind that if I find you saying anything about me or what we are doing here with your little Gryffindors I will make sure that you'll never get any chance to play Quidditch until your seventh year. I hope you understand me clearly."

Harry heard the warning and decided to stay out of his Professor's way. "Yes sir, I understand it clearly."

Harry remained silent until they reached Snape's bedroom. "Professor, this is your room and that is mine" informed Harry pointing towards bedroom on his right side.

Without saying anything Snape opened the door and entered inside. In contrast to his Hogwarts quarters or his house at Spinner's end the room was much brighter and had a smell of lavender to it. It had a large window opening over the front yard. Other than that the room had a queen sized bed, a study table with a chair, a book shelf and a wardrobe closet. The room also had an attached bathroom. Snape found it very difficult to not like the bedroom.

"Um… Professor…?"

Snape turned around as he heard Harry. "Yes, something important Potter?"

"Um… No. I mean yes, your lab is at the end of corridor. Dobby set it up for you" explained Harry hurriedly searching for excuse so he could leave.

Severus watched Harry as he searched for an excuse. He took pity on Harry and decided to get rid of him. "Potter, I think I'll be fine without your help." On further thought he added, "Potter be in the lab in thirty minutes with your aunt so we can start the potion."

Harry got the clue and turned on his heels without noticing the smirk on his Potion Master's face.

Instead of going to the lab Snape decided to arrange his things in his temporary room first. As he entered the room he kept the medium sized trunk on the study table and then removed a matchbox sized trunk from his trouser pocket which he kept on his bed.

" _Engorgio_ " whispered Snape and the trunk enlarged to his original size. He manually opened the trunk and removed his cloths, a few books, a Journal, a stack of blank parchment rolls with ink and quill. He arranged everything to their respective places and then sat down on the very comfortable looking bed. With a sigh he looked at the trunk filled with ingredients and equipment required for brewing the special potion. He never thought in his life that one day he would be brewing a potion whose recipe remained a secret for more than five centuries.

Snape remembered last night when a very cheerful looking Dumbledore came to him with a box of vials containing very precious ingredients. He also gave Snape a parchment written in his own handwriting giving detailed information on recipe of the potion. Snape was thrilled to get his hands on the centuries old recipe until he read the last step of the recipe which evoked the heated conversation between him and his old mentor. Which of course Dumbledore won and Snape ended up with something that he never thought was coming.

Snape discarded the disturbing thoughts and decided to do exactly what he had come to do. He got up from bed and picked up the trunk containing ingredients and walked down towards his new lab.

Forty minutes later Snape heard a knock on his lab door. "Come in" he said after checking his watch.

"You are ten minutes late Potter."

Megan heard the complaining tone as soon as she followed Harry inside the newly made lab.

"Oh, don't blame him. It is me who you should be blaming. Is something wrong?" replied Megan sincerely.

Snape ignored the comment and said in neutral tone. "No everything is good Megan. I called you both here because I think you must know about this potion or more correctly the Magical Core Healing Elixir."

"An Elixir..? I thought they are very rare, complicated and expensive because their ingredients are mostly unavailable" replied Harry remembering a line from a potion book that Hermione borrowed in their second year to brew the _Polyjuice Potion._

"Indeed, it is a very complicated Elixir Potter" Snape agreed reluctantly and then added, "It is unbelievable but you surprised me by knowing about Elixirs."

"We read about Elixirs in the book named _Moste Potente Potions_ " defended Harry without thinking.

"And tell me Potter how did you get your hands on the book kept in restricted section of the Hogwarts Library containing dangerous potion recipes?"

Megan was taken aback by Snape's severe tone. She could see Harry had confessed something which was not expected to be confessed which meant he was heading towards trouble and that she had to help him.

"What does this Elixir exactly do?" asked Megan to distract Snape which worked as he answered her question.

"Dumbledore suggested this Elixir because it will heal your magical core by using a fraction of magical core donated by wizards or witches who have strong magic."

"And who are these donors?" asked Harry with a curiosity.

Snape wished Dumbledore was there to explain everything so he could just brew the potion and be done with his he was not that lucky so he answered as passively as he could. "Potter, it will be you and me."

"What? You..? No, it's not going to happen" blurted Harry without a second thought.

"Potter, I did not volunteer to do this. It's Dumbledore who forced me into this. So whether you like it or not I trust Dumbledore's judgment and will do as he will you!"

"I can't believe that Dumbledore has to choose you for this. Can't he ask anyone else like Sirius or any Weasley for magic donation?" asked Harry without hiding his irritation anymore.

"Because I'm the only potion master available who knows how to brew a delicate Elixir and also know how to keep a secret. In simple language Dumbledore trusts me."

"But…" Harry opened his mouth to argue but Megan interrupted him. "Harry, it's alright with me. I think Mr. Snape is trying to help here."

"Megan, you know nothing about him." Harry tried to convince Megan but to his surprise he failed.

"Harry, I don't know why you both hate each other but if healing of my magical core ensures your safety then I don't care who donates the magic until it won't harm you or me."

Harry knew he was just being difficult and did not want Snape's involvement because he never liked him. Other than that he did not have any valid reason to argue over the matter. So with a sigh he decided to follow Megan's advice.

Snape observed Harry for a moment and said; "Now as I have Potter's esteemed permission I would like to continue."

"Fine, but no need to gloat" commented Harry.

"Don't be so impudent Harry, he is your Professor" chastised Megan.

"Sorry" said Harry to Snape's surprise.

"Now, listen to this carefully because I'll not explain it twice Potter. This potion is a water-blood based potion and requires sixteen ingredients out of which ten are very difficult to acquire but somehow Dumbledore managed to collect each one. Read this Potter" said Snape offering a parchment to Harry.

Harry opened the parchment and saw the list of ingredients followed by the recipe. He showed it to Megan so together they could read.

 **Magical core healing Elixir** :

 **Ingredient:**

 _Spring Water_

 _Camphor_

 _Sandal wood_

 _Wild honey_

 _Dried Flowers of blood orchid_

 _Griffin claw_

 _Extract of mandrake roots_

 _Furnbloom flowers_

 _Dragon blood_

 _Seeds of golden Stella fruit_

 _Phoenix tears_

 _Unicorn blood_

 _Philosopher's stone_

 _Phoenix ashes_

 _Blood from magical donors_

"Merlin's hat…! Philosopher's stone? But I thought Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel destroyed it."

"It's Professor Dumbledore to you and apparently we are not here to discuss the existence of the Philosopher's stone Potter and if you are so interested in the ingredients then why don't you write an assay on the properties and applications of each of those ingredients. May be while doing this exercise you might understand some basic concepts of Potions that I'm trying to drill in you for the last four years."

Harry heard his Professor and decided to accept the challenge; after all he was not one dodge challenges. "Okay, I will".

Megan did know her nephew and Snape did not like each other but the whole hatred thing still puzzled her. She was sure that whatever she was sensing was only the tip of the iceberg, there was something more on Snape's side which he did not want to reveal easily and someday she would find out what it was about, but not was time to collect information about the potion, so she asked, "Mr. Snape if you don't mind will you explain to me how exactly this potion works."

Snape looked annoyed but still decided to answer. "The potion we are brewing will be used in a Celtic Ritual which to my understanding is used to heal and strengthen a magical core by drawing the magical powers from donors by forming a bond between them."

"What kind of bond you are talking about?" asked Megan inquisitively.

While Snape and Megan were discussing the Potion Harry engaged himself in reading the parchment. The list of ingredients made him uncomfortable as he remembered why Voldemort wanted the Philosopher's stone desperately. Similarly the use of blood made him recoil as he remembered the resurrection of he knew Dumbledore would not have allowed the brewing of this potion if it wasn't safe for Megan, the thoughts were making him uneasy. Therefore to distract himself he once again focused his attention on Snape and Megan's conversation.

"Megan if you read the recipe you can see that this potion will need blood from you, Potter and me. As per Dumbledore,at the beginning of the ritual not only you but Potter and I will also be consuming this Elixir in order to forge the magical bond between our cores. The same bond will make you able to draw the magic from us which will heal and strengthen your magical core. And to increase the potency of this Elixir we need to brew it together so we can influence it by adding our magical aura or in other words our characteristic essence."

"The whole process seems interesting to me. So when we are staring?" asked Megan impressed by Snape's revelations.

"The original potion requires at least three weeks for brewing and one week to mature but Dumbledore improved the brewing procedure in way that now it only needs seven hours for brewing and three to four days for maturation. So if I start to brew it in next the hour it will be ready before midnight and it will be all set for maturation."

"What about ingredient preparation?" asked Harry as he remembered the laborious hour he had spent in his Potion classroom for chopping and grinding the various disgusting potion material.

Severus smirked as he saw the distasteful expression on Harry's face. "No need to worry Potter because Dumbledore already took care of it by providing me almost all ingredients in dry, powdered form. So what I need from both of you is your time and patience for the next seven hours."

"Seven hours..!" Megan repeated the word with little surprise.

"Yes, that's correct. The next seven hours Potter and you will follow my directions to brew this magical elixir."

"So no break for dinner or anything else?" asked Megan and Harry at the same time.

Snape stared at Harry and Megan with disgust. He wanted to say something mean but instead he said, "We will see."

And with that he opened the trunk containing the vials of ingredients. He carefully removed each of the labeled vials and placed it in front of Harry and Megan.

To Harry's surprise Snape briefly explained every ingredient and its general role. The thought of Megan having some kind of good effect on Snape made Harry grin but apparently it was not a good idea as Snape glared at him and moved towards the working table so he could set the cauldron.

With a sigh Megan watched Harry, someone she had begun to consider a son. In the past, before her London visit she never thought that she was missing something in her life but now she knew. It was the thrill of possessing magic as well as being responsible for someone. She wanted to remain in her bubble of euphoria but a sound of metal clinking forced her to look towards a very serious looking Potion Master who to her surprise with a casual flick of his wand ignited blue flames under the golden cauldron containing spring water.

Snape was adding camphor when he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. At first he thought it was Harry but then he realized it was Megan which made him uncomfortable but he ignored the feeling and added his next ingredients, sandalwood powder and wild honey. A few minutes later the water began to boil and the room filled with the aromatic steam signaling the time for Harry and Megan's assistance. Snape lowered the flames and looked at Harry who as expected was looking outside through the window.

"Potter come here and do something productive. You too Megan." commanded Snape to drag Harry and Megan from their respective spots.

Megan rolled her eyes as she followed a reluctant Harry towards Snape's working table. Once they reached Snape begun to instruct.

"Potter, when I say add you will be adding the contents from vial labeled Nectar of Blood Orchid. At the exact moment Megan will be adding five Griffin claws into the cauldron. When you finish your respective additions I will stir the contents seven times in the clockwise direction and both of you will repeat it when I say so. Do both of you understand what I'm saying?"

Harry nodded immediately but Megan took some time to comprehend what she just heard. Snape looked at her impatiently and decided to repeat himself but before he repeated himself Megan verbally declared she understood everything.

Harry picked up a small vial labeled Nectar of Blood Orchid and observed its content. It was thick red colored liquid which sparkled when came in contact with light. Harry waited five more minutes and then removed the vial's lid.

"Potter now" snapped Potion Master and watched how clumsily Harry emptied the content of his vial into the steaming cauldron.

As soon as contents from Harry's vial hit the boiling water the steam vanished and the water began to glow with a red hue. A moment later Snape told Megan to add the Griffin claws which she did and watched as the color of the potion changed from red to orange.

Snape looked at his watch for the next eight minutes and then began to stir the contents in a clock wise direction. He stopped after seventh stir and handed the silver rod to Harry who repeated the stirring and once again passed the rod to Megan so she could do the same.

"What next?" asked Megan returning the stirrer back to Snape.

"Now we wait until the potion become colorless that means an hour and then I will add the mandrake's extract" answered Snape casually removing a small notebook and a quill from his trunk. Without saying anything he opened the notebook and began to take notes.

"And what should we do meanwhile?" It was Harry.

"If I were you then I would be studying as well as giving something useful to my aunt which will give her an insight into the magical world where she is supposed to find herself in the upcoming days." With a pause Snape looked towards a very bored looking Harry and said, "Or maybe I'm wrong in presuming that you actually possess something useful other than your precious Quidditch collection."

"Okay, I got it. No need to point that out. I've a copy of "Hogwarts: A History", Hermione loaned me for this summer" defended Harry.

"Well, then what are you waiting for, go and get it" replied Snape with a smirk and once again get engrossed in his notebook.

Harry did not wait for another insulting remark from his professor and left the lab as quickly as possible.

Megan took the advantage of moment and asked, "Why do you hate him so much?"

The question was sudden; it made Snape to stop his writing. "Excuse me..?"

"Don't be naïve Mr. Snape; you know I'm talking about Harry. I'm sure as you are his teacher it's your duty that you should nurture him and not do exactly the opposite.I bet somewhere in his mind he compares you with the Dursleys, who like you treated him like a piece of always remind him that he was nothing but an unloved orphan, a freak to the core. I think it's a miracle that he still retained his ability to love and care while surrounded by people who did not give a damn about his existence."

The intensity of Megan's words rendered Severus speechless, something that only Lily was capable of doing. He did not know how to tell Megan that the moment he saw Lily's lifeless body he lost a piece of his heart, the only piece of him which knew how to love. He knew for sure that other than Dumbledore no one knew how he was responsible for Lily's death. It was the guilt and pain that dragged him towards the depthless world of bitterness. But this sourness became hearted the moment he saw the boy, a spitting image of James Potter with Lily's eyes, the reason Lily sacrificed her life. From that day onward Harry became a living reminder of what Severus lost; what he never had. He always justified his blind hatred for Harry until this very moment when woman who happened to be Lily's twin sister with Lily's temper made him realize that he might have been wrong.

Megan was expecting Snape to lash out or at least deny her accusation but he did nothing and that surprised her further. She knew it was now or never to know why Snape hated Harry so much, so she commented, "If Lily was your friend then how can you not like her child? If you knew Lily and her family how could you leave Harry to live with Petunia?"

The mention of Petunia steered something in Severus and for a moment he did think of accepting Megan's accusation but before he did, his well-reasoned Slytherin mind took control of his wavering emotions and he decided to keep his painful guilt within himself. It never occurred to him but it was his very same sly and self-centered nature that kept him away from Lily and her child. As a matter of fact he deliberately used the excuse of his spy cover to distance himself from Lily's orphan son. The moment Lily died he knew Dumbledore had to place Harry with Petunia but he decided to do nothing, instead he chose to remain in darkness with his grief and loss. He never thought anyone could expect something this humanly from him but Megan surprised him with her boldness as she tried to shatter every one of his excuses to point out his fault. And that was new for him so he chose the only way he knew to defend his Slytherin ego, to go offensive.

"Ms. Spencer, who do you think you are to ask me such a question?" Snape bristle in a sharp tone but apparently Megan did not falter.

"Isn't it obvious Mr. Snape who I am and why I'm asking such important questions? Let me spell it out for you because unlike you he matters to me." retorted Megan as coldly as possible.

Severus had opened his mouth to add something more poisonous but stopped suddenly as Harry returned with a tall stack of books and few roles of parchments.

Harry placed his burden neatly on the far end of the working table. He looked up with a smile but his smile faded as he noticed a change in the atmosphere, it was tense.

"Is something wrong?" asked Harry cautiously.

"It's nothing Harry; I'm just having a chat with your professor. Oh, anyway I thought you are fetching a single book not a whole library!"

Although Harry knew Megan was changing the subject, he replied causally, "Yes, that was true, but then I decided to bring my other text books to complete my project."

Megan approached Harry and picked up the top book titled 'Hogwarts: A History.'

"Yeah that's the book I was talking of, it's really an amazing book Megan. It contains everything about my school and oh this is another one." Harry gave Megan another thick book: _'An Encyclopedia of Magic'._ "It's quite informative as it contains information about important places, events, people, terms and customs used in the magical world."

Megan leafed through the encyclopedia and instantly liked it. "Thanks Harry, I think this will be an excellent start for me. And I think it's better to do something than nothing."

Severus heard Megan's jab but decided to ignore it. Instead he focused his gaze on the steaming potion and made note about its changing aroma in his notebook.

For the next hour all three members sat quietly around the working table doing their respective work.

After trying hard to understand the theory of raising a dome shaped shield against an ice curse Harry finally gave up on his book. He cranked his neck and saw his professor adding mandrake extract and once again the potion in the cauldron began to release thick clouds of brown steam. Harry scratched his head and remembered it was time to add Furnbloom flowers, Dragon blood and seeds of Golden Stella his own surprise he found himself more and more intrigued by this healing Elixir. He wanted to know more so he gathered his Gryffindor courage and approached his Potion Professor.

Severus remained silent when he saw Harry on his opposite site. He knew he could use some help from Harry as well as Megan for the next steps as the maximum involvement of three of them would be beneficial for the potion. He gave the potion five clockwise stirs and decided to call Megan.

"Ms. Spencer, if you have finished reading I suggest you come and join us for the next steps."

Megan heard Snape's frosty invitation but did not react rudely instead she accepted it with a smile and joined Harry on Snape's opposite side.

"Potter, pick up the bottles named Furnbloom flowers and Stella seeds. Give one of it to your aunt."

Harry did as he told. He gave the bottle filled with tiny golden colored seeds of _Stella_ to Megan and kept other bottle with him. He observed content inside his bottle; it was a dark green dry powder.

Severus himself picked up the bottle containing dragon blood and began the instructions. "It is necessary that all of these three ingredients be added at the same time. So follow and copy my moves and when I say add you must empty your vials in the cauldron. Now pickup your vials and remove their lids."

Harry and Megan followed the instruction precisely. They removed the lids of their respective vials and got ready to empty them in the steaming cauldron.

Snape held his uncapped Dragon blood's vial over the cauldron and eyed both Harry and Megan who copied his action. He waited for few seconds and then said, "Add."

All off the three ingredients hit the steaming liquid in cauldron and suddenly the liquid began to boil violently. Harry because of his many experiences of brewing potion with Neville Longbottom knew what going to happen now.

"Megan move back I think it is going to explode," warned Harry with horror.

Megan heard Harry's warning and stepped as far as possible.

A smirking potion master ignored both of his acquaintance and remained where he was. He was expecting the violent reaction of Dragon blood with previously added Griffin claws and Mandrake roots. He waited until the boiling liquid started to emit thick clouds of reddish-purple vapors and then incanted something by waving his wand around the cauldron in a complete circle.

With fascination Megan and Harry saw a blue sphere of light formed around cauldron like a barrier. As soon as the barrier formed the potion stopped boiling and began to simmer and then the barrier vanished.

"What next?" asked Megan with a smile.

Harry remembered what he read two hours ago so he answered before his professor did. "Umm I think, we will wait for ten minutes so the simmering potion becomes clear and then we add Phoenix tears, Unicorn blood and the Philosopher's stone, all three at the same time and our potion will be ready."

"No it will not Potter. Although the additions will be finished in the next thirty minutes, you and Megan are not allowed to leave this room for five more hours. Oh and that's not the end, because the concoction we will get at the end of the seventh hour will be highly unstable unless it will be stabilized by using complicated runes along with Phoenix ashes. And if my calculations are correct then the Elixir will take more than five days for its full maturation. So in short on the night of the full moon, which is the seventh night from today the elixir will be fully ready for its consumption not in the next hour."

Megan waited patiently until Snape snidely explained the course of potion brewing and maturation. Once he was done Megan patted Harry's shoulder with sympathy and watched Snape stirred the potion for two times in clockwise direction followed by one anticlockwise stir. And then the potion began to transform from thick brown to clear yellowish liquid.

"Umm, Professor, where will you keeping this Potion for maturation?" asked Harry with some hesitation.

Severus removed his eyes from steadily clearing potion and answered the question with a touch of exasperation. "Of course in here Potter, so the elixir will remain in our vicinity."

"That means you will be really living with us for the entire week?" Harry asked in hope to get a negative answer.

"Unfortunately, yes but my presence is necessary for the time being."

"But why here? I mean we can go somewhere like Hogwarts or at Sirius's place. They are much secured than here."

"Potter, I know you loath to have me around you but we don't have other options. Dumbledore was delighted by your aunt's choice of house location which indeed is helping us as it is perfectly isolated from any other interfering magical influence."

Megan ignored the bitterness in the potion master's answer; instead she focused her attention on the simmering potion.

Harry too did not ask any more questions and remained silent until his potion master handed him and Megan the tiny vials of Unicorn blood and Phoenix tears respectively.

Severus himself took the vial containing the crushed Philosopher's stone. Just as before he repeated the instructions about when to add the corresponding ingredients and waited until the potion turned a transparent yellow liquid. At the correct moment he signaled both his companions and in unison all of them emptied the last three ingredients in the nearly completed potion.

Megan and Harry watched with fascination as the tiny crystals of Philosopher's stone began to dissolve with a red hue surrounded by the bright silver of the Unicorn blood.

Severus stirred the potion three times in the clockwise direction to encourage proper mixing of all ingredients. He lowered the flame further and the potion once again started to simmer but this time something else happened, a phenomenon that Severus had only read in some rare potion texts.

The simmering potion lost all of its color and became surprisingly crystal clear. Slowly it began to turn silver and once the transformation completed it started to glow. As seconds passed the intensity of the silver glow began to increase forming a halo around the cauldron. The halo did not stop there but it advanced and began to envelope the three occupants of room in its warmth, evoking something that connected their souls, something that would thrive and grow on the love they would share between them.

 **To be continued….**

 **VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**


	6. Bonding

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **Chapter Six**

 **Bonding**

For the first time, in a very long time Severus Snape felt hopeful and happy. He felt lightheaded as the feeling of wellbeing and being loved overwhelmed his senses. The long lived pain of past mistakes had begun to fade as strange warmth enveloped his heart. It lifted the dark burden on his soul and he felt freed, forgiven.

In a daze, Severus checked his surrounding and found himself alone in a forest covered by thick mist. Although the dense patches of trees and shrubs were obstructing his vision he knew where he had to go. On instinct he chose a direction and began walking so he could reach toward the edge of jungle. As he approached the edge the sense of familiarity heightened several times. He focused on his surroundings and tried hard to remember why he knew this place. Suddenly a gush of wind came from nowhere and he realized he was not alone. He heard people, happy and laughing. His heart leapt as he felt a strong pull in the direction of soft voices. Somehow he knew he was there to meet them. So with a fast beating heart he increased his pace and followed the voices. A few minutes more and finally he saw them.

It was a big, beautiful field surrounded by large trees and there sat a family of four under a very familiar looking Maple tree. From the distance he could see a women sitting on a picnic basket with a chubby, little boy who was waving at a young man, holding a broom and talking to a little girl.

As Severus approached the family his heart skipped a bit. He stopped dead in his tracks as he recognized the woman and man. They were Lily and James. He wanted to turn around but something strong and invisible pushed him forward. Reluctantly he closed the distance and realized his mistake. He was wrong. He comprehended the differences. They were not Lily and James. And then it happened, the little girl saw him and cheered happily. "Mother, look daddy is here" and then she ran towards him.

Severus heard the magical words and his confusion heightened. He tried hard to make sense of things happening around him. His Slytherin mind was urging him to run or hide but he didn't. Instead he stood there like someone had cast an Imperius curse on him.

Severus did not know what happened next but he bent on his knees and hugged the little girl. For some reason he felt relived and content. The hug felt natural and familiar gesture. He closed his eyes and knew who she was. The little girl was his daughter!

"You are late and little Steve is making a fuss. Look even Harry is here. He is teaching me how to ride a broom. Where you had been daddy? I missed you."

"I missed you too my princess."The words came of their own accord. The Confession awoke hundreds of emotions that Severus never thought he had a chance to possess.

It was like a hazy morning dream where he knew he needed to wake up but was unable to do so as he started to enjoy it. But then it hit him, if the young man was Harry and not James then the woman must not be Lily, she must be… His thoughts trailed off as he realized who she was. The thought of having a happy family with someone other than Lily made his heart race. He felt a combination of apprehension as well as joy. To confirm this incredible, alternate reality he looked at the Maple tree and clarified his doubts. It was Megan. For a moment his eyes met with her and he knew she was the one who was destined to give him a life that he never had dared to dream of.

Still in his daughter's embrace Severus glanced at dream Harry and found him grinning at him. Instead of feeling annoyed Severus felt a flash of pride and affection for this much taller, healthier and happy Harry. Somehow Severus knew for certain, that it was Megan who filled the gap between him and Harry. Because of her Severus got the chance to know this brave and kind hearted boy who now became an older son, an inseparable part of their lovely and contended family.

With a great sigh Severus closed his eyes and prayed whatever he was witnessing would not end quickly. He wanted to remain there for eternity but his fate had something else in its mind.

Severus along with Harry and Megan snapped back to reality and the dream, illusion or whatever it was ended as quickly as it had started. Even the silver glow of the simmering potion had gone and once again it became crystal clear.

Harry was first who came to his senses. He removed his glasses as soon as he realized something weird had happened. At first he thought he saw a vision similar to the one he saw last year. The only difference was that instead of feeling suffocated he was feeling happy and content. With a startled gaze he looked up and found an equally troubled Megan gawking suspiciously at a very puzzled Potion Master.

"What the hell has just happened?" asked Megan trying to understand why she was feeling a mysterious connection with the dour Potion Professor whom she didn't know at all.

"Was it like a vision Megan? By any chance do you remember anything of it?" asked Harry with an alarm.

Megan removed her gaze from Severus as soon as she heard Harry. She tried to remember what she saw but failed except for the emotions that lingered behind. "Harry I don't know what exactly it was but it felt like I was living a different, much accomplished and happy life with you and… " Megan stopped as soon as she realized the absurdness of her vision. She was okay with Harry but the mere thought of having Severus in her life unhinged her mind.

"What is it Megan? Are you alright?" asked Harry worriedly.

"I'm fine Harry, it's just I'm confused. May be this potion is hallucinogenic and is making me see things."

"Not just you Megan" corrected Severus. He thoughtfully avoided Megan's gaze and continued, "I think it has affected all of us and what we have experienced was different than mere hallucinations. I think Dumbledore will explain it when he will be here."

"And when will he be here?" asked Harry impatiently.

Severus neglected Harry's question as he saw something unusual. "Tempus" he incanted with a simple swish of his wand and produced a glowing imitation of a clock before them. The charm worked but Severus was baffled by what he saw.

Severus's sudden actions confused both Megan and Harry but then they realized what surprised the Potion Master. It was ten o'clock. This meant that they miraculously spent seven hours around the potion without realizing it.

Harry turned around and watched through the window. The watch was showing the correct time. It was night with a half-moon shining in the night sky.

"Mr. Snape I really don't know what's happening here? I think we should call Mr. Dumbledore, as quickly as possible."

Coincidently Severus was thinking the same. With well-practiced ease he focused his thoughts on the message he wanted to deliver and then whispered the charm that Harry knew very well. " _Expecto Patronum_ ".

Something very bright, silvery flashed in the air but before Harry could recognize it, it was gone. A happy memory; a curious thought came to Harry's mind and he quizzically looked at his Potion Master but only got a challenging stare in return.

Megan stared at the potion tiredly as she failed to comprehend things happening around her. She was exhausted and wanted to lie down but she couldn't because she wanted to know how they lost track of five hours and ended up with the mysterious hallucinations. With popping sound her wait to get those answer was cut short

"Albus" greeted Severus as casually as possible but Dumbledore did not miss the wariness.

"Severus what happened?" The old wizard asked worriedly.

The taste of unexpected memories came forward and Severus hesitated to answer but Megan did not.

"That potion of yours induced some kind of hallucinations and we lost almost five hours."

Dumbledore arched his eyebrow but did not reply instead he walked towards the working table and observed the calmly simmering potion. With a thought he put off the flame and let the potion cool.

"Well done Severus. If I remember correctly the potion looks perfect" praised Dumbledore with a smile.

Harry was perplexed by Dumbledore's coolness. He opened his mouth to complain but before he could say anything Dumbledore continued.

"The potion is stable which means your auras are properly infused with the potion ingredients. So in conclusion you three did an excellent job of brewing this Potion."

"But what about those visions and the time we lost? We never lost hours while brewing" asked Harry without hiding his anxiety.

"Harry, first tell me what you saw in your vision."

"Umm Professor I don't remember what I saw but I know how it felt. It felt different as compared to my old visions. This time I was enjoying every moment of it. It was like watching a dream where I was surrounded by happy people."

Harry paused as he remembered something. It was weird but he could feel the happiness and satisfaction clinging to the memory. It was like another life, where he was blissful and had something that he never had before, something he always craved for. And then it hit him. He was surrounded by a family, his very own happy and living family. It was childish and Harry knew everyone was watching him but still he did not want to the feeling to stop. But then another wave of memories came forward and he saw the blurred images of someone. But they were not Lily and James as he had expected. They were different. He jerked back to reality as he realized who they were.

"What is it Harry?" Megan asked nervously but Harry just stared at his Potion Master.

Harry's interrogating gaze made Severus uneasy. He was certain that Harry remembered something that he himself knew was quite impossible.

"Spit it out Potter. Tell us what you remembered."

Harry heard Snape's barking order and felt like his lips were glued together. He was repelled by the idea of being related to his vile Potion Master. He felt guilty for having such a vision which put Megan together with Snape. The bizarre happiness he felt a moment ago had vanished and was replaced by reality where he did have Megan but not the family including Snape which was a creepy notion, nonetheless a happy one.

Harry was pulled back from his thoughts when he heard Dumbledore clear his throat. He uneasily looked at Megan and decided to tell truth. "Megan, I think you should reconsider your decision of consuming this potion. I really don't want to trouble you further. I've a feeling that once you drink that elixir you are signing yourself up for an unthinkable task."

"Harry why on the earth you are saying that. You know my decision very well and I'm not Petunia to turn my back on you. So stop feeling guilty and tell us what you saw in your vision"

"It's weird but I think I saw you and Professor Snape in the vision. I think..."

The statement was enough for Severus to conclude the rest. He was a private person and never liked to expose his personal stuff. He felt vulnerable as he realized that the son of his nemesis was about to reveal something that he himself would never want to disclose publically. So he interrupted Harry. "Don't be so dramatic Potter. Your brain was seeing people you are familiar with. It was just a hallucination, nothing more."

"Professor you don't understand. You both were not only there as a part of a crowd but you were together as a couple, a family and I was a part of your family."

"Harry! That's unbelievable! It's impossible but I saw it too." Megan confessed with disbelief. One look at Potion Master and she realized he also had the similar kind of vision.

Dumbledore smiled as he saw both Megan and Severus was staring at each other. From Megan's confusion and Severus's denial he reached the conclusion that they all saw a similar version of the hallucination which was indeed an effect of brewing a very strong elixir together. The old wizard also had a speculation about the incident but he wisely decided it was not an appropriate time to reveal the truth. He knew for sure once the time came, all three would know the visions were mere start of a journey towards a future filled with new possibilities. But what he needed right now was to stop them from clouding the future with their doubts.

"Severus, Megan and Harry" Dumbledore paused to get attention of all of the three people who were trying hard to solve the mystery of their latest dubious experience. Once they came out of their respective trance he continued. "What I deduced from your combined experience is that the hallucination was the effect of the infusion of your specific signatures with the magical properties of the ingredients and nothing else. And the time you spent together in the hallucination helped in stabilizing the elixir which in normal conditions was impossible to achieve."

Harry felt beyond relieved. He felt happy for not being a reason for Megan's troubles. He could understand Snape staying with them for the next seven days; it was for the elixir and ultimately for Megan but the idea of Snape and Megan together made Harry laugh. It was like imagining water and fire together. He was excited to venture into his magical world with Megan but not with Snape. It was enough to have Snape in Hogwarts watching his every step but not in his life. But now he did not have to worry about Snape because according to Dumbledore what he experienced was just an illusion nothing else.

Similar thoughts were flowing through Megan's mind which were definitely relaxing but not in Severus's mind. He knew Dumbledore long enough to know he could be as cunning as a true Slytherin. And Severus was sure that the old wizard was planning something which meant he had to wait until the right time and bear with it.

"Umm Professor I was wondering, if the potion is ready are we allowed to leave this house? I mean to remain seven days around the Elixir seems impossible."

Dumbledore looked through the window and saw the brightly shining half moon. He did some calculations and then answered. "Harry, I think all of you have spent a pretty good amount of time with the elixir and that will be enough for now. You can leave this house whenever you want but not all three of you at once. Any two of you must remain in close proximity of the house. The prolonged exposure will ensure the efficiency of the elixir. Let me place the Celtic runes on it and then it will ready for maturation."

Megan sighed as she heard the good news. She was there for almost seven hours and was terribly tired and hungry. She could see that Harry and the mighty Potion Master were exhausted too. She knew she had few sachets of ready to cook soups and noodles in her pantry. What she needed was few minutes to cook them. So thinking of dinner she watched as the old wizard directed the Potion Master to pour the entire content of the cauldron in a medium sized glass vial and seal it with a cork. And then she witnessed something that very few individuals had a chance to watch. The sage looking wizard placed the sealed glass vial in a silver box filled with some kind of ash bed. Then he removed his wand from his robe pocket and begun to draw some complicated and unseen pattern on vial's surface. While drawing he murmured something in an unknown language. The effect was immediate. The moment he completed the runes they began to glow, a silvery glow that reminded Megan of the moon. With one hand Dumbledore closed the lid of the box and then tapped his wand three times on its latch ending his incantation.

Dumbledore turned around and smiled at Megan. "It's done Megan now you can go and cook those noodles. I think Severus will be interested in helping you. Harry and I will join you once I keep this box safely in one of these cabinets."

Megan became speechless by Dumbledore's uncanny ability to read her mind. She wanted to know how but Severus stopped her by commenting, "Yes, he has that ability but trust me he was not the only one who has it."

"And who is the other?"

Severus just smirked and walked towards the door and then downstairs to help his hostess to cook their dinner.

Harry saw an irritated Megan followed the Potion Master and the possibility of being happy whirled in his mind once more.

 **VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for this ridiculously short chapter. Next time I'll try to come up with a longer chapter. Enjoy the reading and don't forget to review. Your reviews are important to me.


	7. Breaking The Ice

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **Chapter Seven**

 **Breaking The Ice**

Harry sighed as soon he left the kitchen. The dinner was as awkward as the last four dinners and he was tired of waiting and counting the days, because he knew the answer. The Elixir would take four days and three more nights to mature and then he would be free from Snape's continuous scrutiny which indeed had became an uncomfortable affair these last three days.

The Severus Snape Harry knew for the past four years was malicious, ruthless and a strict teacher. At Hogwarts he hated Harry immensely and never missed a single opportunity to crush Harry's spirits. In Harry's opinion the evil, always sneering Potion Master was just there to humiliate him in order to boost ego of whole Slytherin house.

But now Harry was not sure about anything. He was observing few, very subtle changes in Snape's behavior. To Harry's surprise the Snape staying with him and Megan was fairly accommodating. Contrary to his image of a dungeon bat he looked a straight faced human in his muggle attire. He did not forget to sneer whenever he got the chance but Harry knew the sneer did not have its usual terrifying effect. Somehow Snape lost his arrogant knowledgeable smirk. He seemed occupied with something else.

In the last three days Harry encountered Snape only in the kitchen studying silently, reading a few old parchments and texts Harry knew nothing about. Snape did not react nor commented about Harry's presence around him but Harry was sure of being followed by staring eyes whenever he was not looking at Snape. He even caught his Potion Master once observing Megan with a frown plastered on his thoughtful face. At first Harry failed to understand Snape's strange behavior but then he under stood the reason. It was the vision they saw together while brewing the Elixir.

But today Snape was not the only reason for Harry's churning thoughts. Harry was feeling something else too. He was unable to name it but it was mixture of alien feelings like anger, irritation and frustration and it started two nights ago when he woke up sweating. He felt like he was suffocating, trying to run away from something very sick and foul but he was failing. The next day, in the morning he did not remember having any nightmare but still the lingering dread left him on edge. It was creepy but he knew something was not right and he needed to know why? He wanted to share this new weird development with Ron and Hermione or even with Sirius but he didn't have Hedwig with him. So the only choice he had was either Megan or Dumbledore whom he did not wanted to bother anymore. That meant he needed to wait until Ron decided to write him something and use Hedwig to deliver it which was nearly impossible as it was just the beginning of their summer break. So with those new troubling thoughts Harry climbed up the staircase with a defeated pace. He knew he must be happy and grateful for Megan's complete acceptance of him but he was unable to do that. Instead he was brooding over Snape's presence in Megan's house. At first when Dumbledore came with the idea of the _Core Healing Elixir_ Harry felt good but then Dumbledore revealed Snape's involvement and Harry ended up with Snape's looming presence in his and Megan's life.

The stairs ended but Harry's thoughts did not. Absentmindedly he entered his room and changed into pajamas. Still laden with his thoughts he went in to the bathroom. While brushing his teeth his mind once again whirled around the impossible vision he saw when Elixir brewed. For some unfathomable reasons he felt hopeful the day he experienced the vision first, but now he felt bitter. He knew surely that it was nothing but a piece of his imagination originated from his selfishly helpless mind. It was frustrating and painful to forget the happy backlash of vision but Harry was determined to do it because he knew the darkness of his fate was infectious and would never allow him to be happy.

With great efforts Harry focused his attention on the minty flavor of the toothpaste in his mouth. After a minute mechanically he stopped brushing, rinsed his mouth few times and left the bathroom.

Harry looked at the inviting bed but instead of sleeping he decided to read something to distract his mind. He eyed his table and found a mess of littered books and parchments; it was everything related to potions which he had used to complete his Potion essays. The choice was circumstantial as he did not want to take any chances around his oddly behaving Potion Master. With irritation Harry folded his potion essays and kept them aside. After searching for a while he found what he was looking for; the old Transfiguration book. With the book in his hand he opened the window and hopped on windowsill, which lately had become his favorite spot.

The cool current of air was a relief from exhausting summer heat. A small smile spread over his face as he watched the newly planted rosebushes bathing in moonlight. He knew it was quite a miracle to have plenty of water for gardening when most parts of England were suffering from draught. He made a mental note to ask later about it to Megan. He did not want to move his eyes from the scene but he could not neglect his poor performance in transfiguration too. So he opened the book and began the reading.

A moment later he closed his eyes to digest the meaning of a very complicated sentence. He was on the verge of understanding when he realized something weird. He sensed a presence, something like a flash of bluish grey beyond his closed eyes. Panicked he opened his eyes and searched around. He did not see anything but then heard a rustle outside his door. He waited in hope to hear the knock but it never came. Instead he heard footsteps moving down the corridor. And then he realized it was Snape. And that was one more oddity he would be adding to his list.

For the next few hours Harry read and tried to absorb various intricacies of transfiguration. It was one in the morning when he finally decided to wind up. He was surprised when he saw a bunch of pages he had deciphered in one go. He smiled as he heard "well done" in Hermione's voice echo in his brain. A yawn escaped from his mouth as he shut the book.

With a satisfaction Harry switched off the lights and went to bed. He removed his glasses and suddenly remembered; Megan's announcement about her absence tomorrow. She would be going to London to take care of some official work which means Harry will be alone with Snape.

Goosebumps prickled over Harry's skin a she remembered his many disgusting detentions in the cold dungeons. He knew very well what was going to happen tomorrow. Megan would not be there to distract Snape or act as buffer between him and Snape which meant whatever he did tomorrow would infuriate the Potion Master. So in order to avoid any bitter encounter he had to devise a strategy. Luckily he had one. The experience of living with the Dursleys taught him how to protect himself from bullies. The best way was to stay put and calm; do whatever you want to, just avoid any possible interaction with your nemesis.

So with a simple plan in his head Harry stopped worrying and slept. What he did not realize was he would not be dealing with fools like Dursleys; instead he would be facing the Slytherin mastermind.

"Would you mind looking after Harry tomorrow?" asked Megan tentatively.

Severus silently took a sip of his tea and considered the request. In usual circumstances he would not have even blinked before refusing to babysit James Potter's brat but not now. Instead he considered it an excellent opportunity to clarify some startling observations he had been noticing about the golden boy. He wanted to discover if Harry was an acting to be a polite, obedient boy or was it a genuine trait he inherited from his mother. The well seasoned Spy in Severus wanted to know why the savior of the wizarding world instead of showing his self absorbed, arrogant celebrity persona had been volunteering happily for working in the garden and kitchen. Oh and it was not the end of Severus's heightened irritation as he was also catching Harry in his room doing his homework quite sincerely; which according to Severus was a rare incidence in case of any Gryffindor, off course except for Ms. Granger. So in short by offering him charge of Harry, Megan was giving him a chance to find out why Harry Potter was behaving strangely and he was not the one giving off the opportunity. So he accepted the offer as passively as he could.

"Yes, sure Miss Spencer."

"It's Megan, Mr. Snape and thanks for agreeing. I'm sure until I return you both will try to cooperate with each other" said Megan with a hint of smile.

Severus did not reply instead he finished his tea and got up from his chair in order to help Megan in cleaning the dishes. In last three days it became a routine that Harry would help Megan to cook every meal and Severus would help her in cleaning. He even restrained himself from using any magic in order not to affect Elixir's magical properties. He did not like the muggle way of doing things but he still offered his help as a little repayment for being a modest guest.

Hence Severus helped Megan silently until Megan suddenly ask him something.

"Is it okay, if I call you Severus?" Megan didn't know where that question came from but she felt foolishly relieved for asking it. She busied herself in drying glasses to avoid further embarrassment.

Severus never felt this awkward in his life. He was never a friendly person and nor did he try to be one. It was only Lily who had warmed his life with her kindness and let him be her friend. She patiently tried to remain in his life but one day in their fifth year Severus brutally cut her from his life to make certain choices which had tarnished his future forever. And when he came to his senses it was too late. Lily was gone. What remained were only his colleagues and acquaintances, except for Dumbledore who persistently tried to help him with his own meddling way. So what Severus was experiencing now was totally new to him. Megan's simple, trivial question had awoken a tiny hope inside his heart but he neglected it in fear of his gloomy past and upcoming future with unknown darkness.

The sound of shattering glass broke Severus's trance. He looked up and found Megan picking up the shreds of glass which she was holding a moment ago.

"Careful Megan, they are sharp. Let me collect them."

"It's done. No need to worry Mr. Snape."

"Megan, Severus will be fine" said Severus casually which surprised Megan to an extent that she forgot about broken glass and gawked at Severus with her olive green eyes.

Severus broke the eye contact first as the moment stretched uncomfortably. "You missed that" indicated Severus towards a long shred.

Megan hastily picked up the shred and threw it with others in dustbin. She looked around and realized everything was cleaned up. She felt guilty and stupid for making the situation so awkward and she did not want to make it worse, so she did the obvious thing, she kept her mouth shut and busied herself in drying her hands.

Severus felt grateful for Megan's silence and chose the opportunity to leave the kitchen with a formal goodnight. On his way back to his room upstairs for a moment he stopped and stared at the closed door of Harry's room with a question on his mind. For Merlin's sake how would he keeping his annoyance in check while babysitting Harry Potter for an entire day.

"Wake up Potter..!"Severus knocked on the door one more time. He was losing his patience and thinking of blasting the door but then it was not his house and the owner of it gave him the responsibility to look after it and the brat living in it.

"Potter it's nine in the morning and if you don't get up in next five seconds I'm coming inside."

Harry sat upright the moment he recognized the voice. He knew Snape enough to ignore his threats. Without losing any second he jumped out of his bed and yanked the door open. And there he found an irritated looking Severus Snape wand ready in his hand.

"Potter, get ready. Eat your breakfast and meet me in the study room."

Harry just stood there and stared at his Potion Master trying to decipher why he was in Megan's house. But then he remembered the brewing and Megan's announcement.

"Has she left already?" asked Harry suppressing a yawn.

Severus watched the sleepy teenager in front of him with disgust. He hated the way Harry's hair spread in all directions, like a nest of some wild bird. He wanted to deliver a harsh comment or cut them with his own hands but then again he saw the innocent curiosity in those emerald eyes and answered forcefully. "She left an hour ago. Now go clean yourself before I decide to mow your hairs myself. "

With a sheepish grin Harry ran his fingers through his hairs and tried to flatten them. In response Snape's jaw tightened and Harry stopped grinning.

"Umm sorry. Give me few minutes and I'll be there" babbled Harry to pacify Snape.

Without any acknowledgement Severus turned around and walked away.

An hour later a fresh and well fed Harry entered the study and found his Potion Master sitting at the central table taking some notes from the mysterious old book.

Severus kept away his quill and looked up. He would not say so but he was impressed by Harry's efforts to look tidy.

Harry hated when someone stared at him. He felt like a monkey at an exhibition. He wanted to crawl under the rug but Snape's scrutinizing gaze held him in place. He waited in hope to hear his final sentence and get over with his punishment or whatever it was. And then he heard it.

"Potter, hear this once, as I will not be repeating it again. For the next twelve hours you will be under my care. In simple words Megan asked me to babysit you. "

"What? To babysit me? I'm not a nine year old anymore", stated Harry with a scowl.

"But you are behaving like one. Interrupt me again and you will find yourself in a corner."

Harry's face reddened as he heard the statement but Snape ignored it and continued.

"If I'm not wrong then to prepare you for the upcoming OWLs you've been given plenty of work to do this summer. And as this is your second week of holiday I'm expecting you must have completed the homework for at least a few subjects, haven't you Potter? "

"Yes, I have." Harry nodded with relief.

"May I know which those fortunate subjects are?"

"Charms and..." Harry hesitated for moment and then added quickly "Umm Potions!"

Harry saw nothing on Snape's face; he looked as uninterested as ever. So he added, "well, I have also been working on my Transfiguration essay but it has taking some time."

Severus heard Harry and arched his eyebrow skeptically. In the light of his previous experiences he was not expecting anything seriously done but Harry surprised him. And now he wanted to know what the golden boy had scribbled as homework for him.

"Potter, I'd like to see your Potion essay in order to decide whether my red ink is worth wasting or not?"

Harry wanted to smirk for predicting Snape's exact demand. It was tempting but he restrained himself from doing so, instead he busied himself extracting the Potion homework from his overly stuffed school bag.

Severus waited watching the clumsy and disorganized teenager in front of him. His astonishment heightened as a few very old, precious and dangerously informative books popped out from the bag. He kept his mouth shut in order to interrogate the boy later. He watched the whole de-bagging process as patiently as possible. Finally when he thought it was enough Harry produced a thick, crumpled role of parchments from the bottom of his bag and proudly deposited it in the Potion Master's outstretched hand.

Severus opened the folded parchment as delicately as possible. He remembered that he had told them to write two essays, one on ingredients, properties and common uses of any ten Antidote potions and the other was enlisting potions containing animal originated magical ingredients with their respective magical properties.

The first thing Severus noticed about the parchment other than its crumpled state was a big brown spot of tea on upper edge. Keeping his temper in check he examined the remaining parchments. There were nine in total, each a foot in length. It was one foot more than what he had told them to write which was quite surprising in Harry's case. Even the handwriting was legible, much better than what Severus had been endured to read in the past. Severus was expecting something worse or nothing at all but what he was seeing was totally different. The unusual write-up made him read the first paragraph. It was perfect. Neither mistakes nor unnecessary words, just a simple but interesting introduction to Antidotes. He wanted to stop but the teacher and researcher inside him forced him to read further and further. So he continued.

Harry remained rooted to his spot watching curiously every reaction on his Potion master's face. From Snape's stern and concentrated looks he knew Snape was really examining his essays. And then, what Harry was expecting had happened. It was the fifth parchment when Snape picked up his infamous red quill and begun scratching and scribbling furiously. With crushed spirit Harry decided to leave the room but he was late.

"Potter, come here."

Harry heard the order but did not move. The sharp tone induced a sense of dread in him.

"Potter do you have problem in hearing?"

"No, I don't" replied Harry and walked slowly towards his Potion Master.

The moment he reached Snape he adjusted his new glasses and focused his attention on the bundle of parchment trapped under Snape's long fingers.

"Potter, who helped you write this essay? Let me guess, may be Miss Granger?"

"No she did not. At least not in writing" answered Harry with gratitude filled voice.

"And what does that mean? ", snapped Severus with hint of impatience.

Harry remained silent thinking about how to avoid confessing about numerous school rules he and his friends especially the Weasley twins and Hermione had to break while creating his magical jacket. He knew for sure if he made a mistake and spilled something out Snape would never miss the opportunity to punish his friends. So he decided to deceive which was a mistake.

"Potter" warned Severus as his patience begun to wane.

"She helped me in tournament with spells and their practice but nothing else. She doesn't have anything to do with my homework."

Severus knew Harry was hiding something. So he decided to probe further. "Really Potter, do you think your pathetic cover story will suffice to convince me? I know you and your little friends quite well Potter."

Harry opened his mouth to protest but Severus's did not give him chance, he just continued. "If you are telling me the truth then explain to me, without any help from Ms. Granger, how you got your hands on those rare books which as per my knowledge belong in the Hogwart's library, more specifically to the restricted section."

"Umm… it was … those aren't books. I mean they are books but not the real ones." Harry shut his mouth as the partial truth came out of his mouth.

"Not real books" Severus repeated slowly and got up from his chair. In one stride he reached for Harry's bag. Without any hesitation he bent down and picked it up. He returned to the table and emptied the bag on to it making a small pile of the books. With astonishment Severus picked up a thick one entitled " _Defend the Dark_ by Wallington Hawk".

Severus knew that book. It was good and designed for N.E.W.T. level studies. He had used it when he was a student at Hogwarts. He knew every single page of the book by heart. He loved and studied that book quite passionately. Rather it was the same book from which he learned a lot of useful defensive spells that saved his life on various occasions. The old memories flashed in his mind and with a touch of nostalgia he opened the book. The moment he opened the book he understood the difference. The book was not the original one. It was a poor copy of the original one but adequately readable. With curiosity he leafed through the remaining books from the pile. They all were duplicate copies of defense books.

"Who made these pathetic imitations, Potter? Don't say you made them because Imitation charms are quite difficult for a mediocre wizard like you."

Harry's eyes widened as Severus eerily found out what he going to say. With a dumb expression he stared at Severus thinking about what to say next.

"Potter, don't be surprised since it was expected as per rumors about my mind reading abilities circling amongst the students of Hogwarts."

"So, you really can do that? I mean…. read minds?" asked a very stunned Harry.

"It might be true" answered Severus with smirk and then added, "but we are not here to discuss about my mind reading abilities. We are here to know how you came into possession of illegal copies of extremely important books."

Harry averted his eyes as soon as he considered the implication of the dubious confession from his Potion Master. He also realized that lying was out of question now. He had to be honest before Snape found out the whole thing in his own creepy way.

"Professor it was not me or Hermione." Harry stopped and tried to stretch the moment but Severus's narrowed gaze prompted him to talk. "It was Fred and George who helped me. I barrowed a few… I mean many books from the restricted section with help of fake Professor Moody. And as I needed the books for a prolonged time the Weasley twins volunteered to copy all of them. The practice helped them tremendously to improve their imitation charm." A small smile spread over Harry's face as he remembered how he had fun with the Weasley twins while preparing for the third task.

"Is that all Potter?"

"Yes that was all Sir" Harry tried but that damn unyielding stare made him add something else. "They also helped me in creating my Cheating Jacket."

"Cheating Jacket..?" Severus repeated inquisitively.

"Initially it was the twin's idea. They wanted to create something which had similar properties like Mrs. Wesley's expansion bag and I wanted something to carry my books and other stuff without showing it to the Dursleys. Hermione was there when we were discussing it. So she came up with idea of the Cheating jacket which would carry many things without exerting any weight or occupying extra volume."

Severus heard Harry's intriguing tale without any interruption. He already knew about the Weasley twins' creativity as well as about Hermione's brilliance but had never heard Harry confessing something about his relatives, at least not in front of him. From his own past experiences he knew about Petunia's hatred and jealousy for magic. Recently, Megan too got an idea about Harry's mistreatment at the hand of the Dursleys. Unlike him she took appropriate action by taking responsibility of Harry and also sharply taunted him about his own indolence for which he hadn't been proud of. And now hearing it from Harry's mouth intensified it. A streak of anger flared in his mind accompanied with the dark desire to punish Petunia and her family for being unfair with Lily's child.

Severus controlled his emotions as he noticed Harry backing away from his table. For the first time in the last four years he did not want to scare Harry. For the first time his interest in knowing about Harry was genuine. He knew it was the best time to clear a few more doubts. So he asked.

"Potter, how was Petunia with you?"

The question came out of the blue and Harry wanted to laugh at how absurd it sounded. Neither had anyone ever asked him this clearly about his miserable life at the Dursleys nor had he wanted to discuss it with anyone; not even with Ron and Hermione. Because he knew discussing about it was not enough to change his fate and the fact that he was an orphan and in future he would remain one. He knew very well that his living with Petunia or Megan was just a temporary solution and he must feel grateful for having them. So he answered as plainly and factually as possible.

"Petunia was okay with me. She did her duty by taking me in when no one was there for me. She never liked me but taught me the real value of love, family and friendship. Her hatred for magic made me accept its presence. She did not spoil me like Dudley instead she taught me household skills and made me realize the unfairness of life. In a way she made me independent and wise. She made me fit for struggle and existence."

And then Harry stopped. Without adding anything he looked straight at Severus and found something akin to helplessness. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of understanding on the Potion Master's face but then it vanished under many layers of apathy.

For a moment Severus felt like the burden of his past misdeeds increased by a hundred fold, he felt vulnerable. For a moment his own harsh childhood flashed in front of him. For the first time he realized why Dumbledore always urged him to understand Harry and insisted he had a big heart like his mother, Lily. It took lot of his restrain not to make a foolish comment so instead he decided to change the topic.

"So how exactly did you use your new invention, the Cheating Jacket?"

It was so out of nowhere that Harry took a full minute to comprehend the question. "I used it to smuggle my books, parchments and other stuff when I returned to Private Drive."

"Smuggling? But why?" asked Severus skeptically.

"Because the Dursleys forbid me from opening or touching any of my Hogwarts stuff and to ensure that they locked my trunk in the cupboard under stairs." The mention of his old room made him remember his old helpless days and something deep inside his brain screamed. Without realizing what he was saying he added, "It was my old room, where I lived for almost nine years, until one day they received my first Hogwarts letter."

"What…? Your room Potter?"

Harry felt stupid for not paying attention to what he was saying but it was too late and he knew he already had awoken Severus's curiosity for Merlin know but may for tenth time.

"It's nothing important Sir, just something that I wish to forget."

"Really Potter, do you think trying to forget is the only solution."

"I know it's not the proper way but it works for me. Anyway it doesn't matter anymore."

Severus only sighed and turned his attention to the Potion essay he was reading. It was a good attempt to write, but still there was room for few improvements and Severus was not finished with them yet. But before that he had one more query, ' _why would Harry need so many defense books when, no one had given any homework for DADA_ '. So he asked tentatively "Potter, are you planning to read all those books this summer?"

Harry eyed the pile of defense books on table and simply answered, "Not exactly, but I'm using them as reference books for my defense project."

"Defense project" repeated Severus with interest. "And what exactly does it contain?"

"Just a collection of basic but useful spells, jinxes and charms; if possible may be a few shields and curses too."

"Hmm, quite impressive Potter, but don't you think only taking notes will not be sufficient. If you are seeking excellence in defense then you must learn it by doing."

Harry was expecting something like disapproval but not praise or support. He had heard the rumor about Snape's interest in the post of the Defense teacher but never saw him publically claiming it. But now he knew the rumors might have some hidden truth. The advice was good but the technical problem of underage magic outside Hogwarts was impossible to ignore. Harry wished he and his friends would get permission to use magic. May be he should ask someone who knew if there would be some kind of decree during emergencies.

"But Professor, I'm not allowed to use magic here outside of Hogwarts, at least not now."

"Potter I know the rule very well, you don't need to recite it. But I also know one thing; if you know certain loopholes in the law then it is possible to find ways."

"Are you saying that I can do magic without getting expelled from school."

"Not exactly, but if you managed to do it at a place crowded by adult wizards then it will be impossible for the ministry to find out who performed the magic."

"But what about wands? What if they still traced me somehow and performed a _Priory incantatem_ on my wand?"

Severus stared at Harry with disbelief, before this he never knew that Harry, along with his damn Gryffindor qualities, also possessed a sharp inquisitive mind, maybe it was because Ms. Granger's continuous present around him.

"Hmm that would be possible, but maybe there is another way to solve it. May be I should discuss this issue further with Dumbledore. Until then you should concentrate on your project and homework. And that reminds me about your Potion essays which are not as bad as I was expecting." Harry's face lit up with a smile which in turn provoked Severus to add, "Potter, that don't mean your essays are outstanding. There are many spelling and grammatical mistakes so I would like you to rewrite them before submitting for final grading."

"But Professor…" Harry protested but Severus interrupted with authority.

"No more excuses Potter, I know your brain is capable of doing better things. You will get your checked essays at lunch; show me the corrected ones tomorrow. Now you are free to do whatever you wish to do."

Harry silently stared at his potion essays and then picked up the pile of his defense books. He was just leaving with his book when Severus interjected. "Ask me if you find any difficulty while reading those defense books."

In response, at first Harry just stared and then nodded with "Yes Sir". And then without turning back he left the study room.

If had he decided to turn around and see, he would have found a smirking Potion Master looking after him.

Three hours later, just before Severus was thinking about lunch, Harry appeared in study to collect his potion essays.

"It's miracle you remembered to show up. I thought you forgot your essays." Severus teased before returning the thick role of parchment back to Harry.

"No I didn't. Actually I came here to inform you about lunch, it's ready."

Without saying anything Severus followed Harry to kitchen and saw two plates, each containing pairs of some kind of grilled sandwiches and two glasses of orange juice. In silence both took opposite sits and began eating.

Severus took the first bite of sandwich and immediately like it. It was ham, cheese and pickle sandwich with a mayonnaise dressing, some onion and herbs. He finished his first sandwich slowly enjoying every bite of it. But before he had started his second sandwich something popped in his head.

"Potter, did you know your mother never liked cooking, on the other hand Petunia loved cooking just like your Grandmother Olivia. She always packed extra sandwiches for Lily and me for our train journey. She always knew I liked her Sandwiches especially this one with the ham, cheese and herbs. Your sandwich reminded me of her recipe."

Severus never knew something this trivial like a very old and unimportant memory would have a remarkable effect on Harry. He watched Harry listen with undivided attention; tried to absorb and preserve every word in his memory. Severus did not miss how the mention of Lily lit Harry's eyes with a strange happiness. He would have stopped but an invisible urge forced him to continue, so he did. "I still remember the taste of your Grandmother's roast chicken. She never stopped inviting me for Sunday lunches and Christmas dinner. Not even when Lily and I had a fight and got separated on totally opposite sides. Petunia never liked me before but once she got news of my fight with your mother she began to hate me openly."

Severus halted abruptly as he remembered next the memory in sequence. It was a busy afternoon of July, when he accidently met Lily's parents in London for the last time. It was a brief interaction but the affection he saw in their eyes had imprinted permanently in his mind. Three months later he heard about their murder. And then came the worst Halloween of his life destroying the last ray of light from his life.

"What happened?" Harry asked uneasily as he saw tremendous pain occluding his potion master's features. He had a tentative idea but wanted to hear it anyway.

"Something terrible Potter but I'm not the right person you should be hearing it from."

"Professor, don't worry but I think I'll be fine" Harry insisted stubbornly and Snape obliged.

"One day in July, I accidently met your grandparents in London. I never thought it was our last meeting. It was almost one and half year that he was hunting you without any success. In the end his frustration heightened to a peak and he decided to visit your living relatives. Luckily your father didn't have anyone but Lily was unfortunate. Three months after my meeting with your grandparents the Dark Lord visited them. He tortured them to find out your parent's whereabouts. Finally when they failed to give him any information he killed them. After that he decided to visit Petunia but that never happened. He found a new pawn, a traitor. Now I know it was Peter Pettigrew. A few days after your grandparent's funeral, Peter betrayed your parents. The Dark Lord found your whereabouts and on the night of Halloween he attacked Godric's Hollow."

Severus stopped talking as he saw tears gathering in Harry's emerald eyes. He became silent as his guilty conscience cursed him for voicing the memory. Every student of his Slytherin house knew about Severus's hatred for public display of emotions, which also was one of the reasons he hated all Gryffindors. But this time Harry's suffering had an unusual effect on him. It shook something profound inside him generating an urge to console Harry, to protect him.

Harry's vision blurred as a pained scream echoed inside Harry's brain. He knew who it belonged to. No one ever told him why but he knew Voldemort killed his parents as well as grandparents because of him. And not only them but Cedric also died because of him. And then one by one many gloomy thoughts began to gather until a voice pulled him back to reality.

"Potter…! Are you alright? Potter… Harry, are you listing to me?" Severus continued until Harry looked at him quizzically and asked.

"What..? What happened?"

"I would say nothing serious. You forgot to eat your lunch."

Harry eyed his unfinished lunch and realized he behaved stupidly in front of his least favorite teacher. Embarrassed he hastily cleared his tears and resumed eating.

In record time they both finished lunch and cleaning. Just before they left the kitchen, Harry asked.

"Professor, what will happen with Megan if she really gets Magic?"

Severus himself was thinking about the same possibility in the last few days. He knew Dumbledore was gambling in order to redeem himself from the burden of not giving Harry a happy childhood. Severus knew for sure if the Elixir would show its desired effect Dumbledore would seriously think about giving Harry's custody to Megan. And that would not be the only benefit having a magical Megan around Harry, as she would be helpful in keeping Harry safe which had become their first priority after Voldemort's return.

Harry watched his professor thoughtfully. He knew Severus was being careful before giving any answer. Finally a minute later his Potion Master answered indifferently.

"Potter, Megan's acquiring magic will certainly open many possibilities. For instance her presence with her magical abilities will help us keep you and your reckless behavior in control."

Harry rolled his eyes for exaggerating about his behavior. But still he did not forget what was bothering him about this whole Elixir stuff.

"Umm Professor but it will be unfair to drag her in our world. I think it will be too much for her. She doesn't have any idea about the dangers waiting for her in our world. And even if she gets her magic back she still will need proper training to control her magic as well kind of a crash course in DADA so she could protect herself. I don't know how she will achieve this, but it really looks quite impossible to me."

"Potter, don't over think. And about Megan, leave her to Dumbledore; he knows what is good for her. I insist, instead of thinking about Megan's future that you concentrate on your studies. Oh and this reminds me you have only twenty four hours to correct and submit your Potion essays."

And with that Severus left leaving behind a scowling Harry in his wake.

Author's Note: To all my dear readers, wish you a very Happy New Year! And don't forget to review.


	8. Moon's Magic

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

 **Chapter Eight**

 **Moon's Magic**

It was a beautiful night. The full moon was already up, bright against the contrast of the dark sky. Somewhere away from London's artificial lights stood a dilapidated abandoned manor covered in the sheen of the silvery moonlight.

The manor was silent until two pops echoed just outside of it. It was a pair of hooded tall men; one had brown eyes and an aristocratic smile while the other had blue eyes and a fearful look on his handsome face. In a great hurry they walked inside until they came across a room containing a lone throne. With utter silence and respect both men presented themselves before the throne where sat a snake faced creature, Lord Voldemort - the darkest wizard of the century.

Voldemort eyed his two new recruits and admired his own efforts in the past to impress their mother who fortunately shared his exact ideas and ambitions. After his resurrection when he met her after a gap of more than thirty years she astounded him by her wealth and status. He even admired her astuteness when she happily welcomed him in her abode without any fear and offered her assistance by presenting her sons Gabriel and Bernard, who were now standing before him to report the details of their first assignment.

"My lord" said the brown eyed Gabriel bowing his head with respect. Soon Bernard, the one with blue eyes followed his elder brother and stood there with bowing his head too.

"Raise your heads my loyal servants and tell me what information you have collected" asked Voldemort with smile.

Bernard was the first who answered, "As you had suggested I personally followed Harry Potter with his muggle relative. I succeeded in following them to Surrey but then something happened and… umm I lost tract of them. They just vanished in front of my eyes." Bernard glanced fearfully at Voldemort and slowly added, "But, I did not stop there. I used my muggle contacts for more than two weeks and finally found out a vague location of Potter's house. But…"

Voldemort twirled his wand in his hand and patiently looked at Bernard. He knew very well that finding Harry Potter's whereabouts was nearly impossible thanks to Dumbledore. When he last tried to find it out he almost lost his life. In fact he was not expecting any progress from either Bernard or Gabriel but still he had been tolerating them because he had some plans for them. He wanted to use them and their mother's contacts to cause chaos in the muggle word. Right now he was just judging their potential and loyalty. So with a fake disappointment he asked, "I never thought you will be the one to disappoint me Bernard."

Bernard's breathing quickened the moment he heard Voldemort's silky voice. He knew it meant a penalty, nothing else. He knew he had to say something before Voldemort raise his wand against him. "I apologize for not trying harder my lord, but trust me it will not happen again. Please let me finish my findings my lord."

Voldemort stared at Bernard and tried to listen.

"My lord I did not get any information about Potter's whereabouts but found something interesting. Potter's relatives left Surrey for their summer vacation but they did not take Potter with them. Instead what I heard was they sent him away with someone else, a woman. I tried to gather more information about this woman but no one had any idea about her."

"A woman..? I would say a remarkable development!" remarked Voldemort with curiosity. "Well done Bernard. I suggest you continue your search for Potter boy as well as this new woman."

"Yes my lord. I'll do my best to find both of them."

Voldemort smirked as he sensed the relief in Bernard's voice. With a satisfaction he looked at Gabriel and asked. "Now you Gabriel, what do you have for me?"

Gabriel looked at his knew lord and answered. "I think your plan of hiding your presence is working magic for us. Fudge was showing his usual stupidity and I think that has caused Dumbledore a great deal of irritation. Last week I met Fudge and told him he was correct about Potter and Dumbledore spreading rumors about your return. I also suggested him to do something productive to stop both of them like arresting them for trying to cause fear in minds of the general wizarding public. As a result he has assembled a committee of law authorities and together they are trying to fix the Dumbledore problem."

"Indeed a good move Gabriel" replied Voldemort thoughtfully. He knew Fudge was a fool but for the time being he would be the key player in his plan. Once he got the Prophecy and found out a way to finish Potter he would deal with Fudge and everyone else. Anyway the time had come to test the loyalty of his old death eaters like the Malfoys, Yaxley and of course Snape.

For the next few minutes the three of them talked about the French ministry of magic where Gabriel was working as a foreign relations officer. All of them laughed at the lethargy and stupidity of both governments for not investigating Dumbledore's and Potter's claims about Voldemort's return. Before departing Gabriel and Bernard promised Voldemort that they would acquire a few more supporters in France as well as other countries. This made Voldemort smile in satisfaction and relieved both brothers without doing any harm.

The moment both brothers disappeared Voldemort mused about his new ability, which he had discovered accidently few days ago. He realized Harry's blood did not only give him strength and the ability to touch Harry without burning himself but also fortified a link between their minds which he was unaware of having until his resurrection. So every day with a caution he focused his mind in Harry's direction. He knew for sure few more days and he would get control of every thought and action generated from Harry's mind. Soon Harry Potter would become his puppet and no one, not even Dumbledore could dare to stop him.

"Harry, let's go. It's time" said Megan coming over to an anxious Harry sitting in the living room.

Harry got up from his seat and faced Megan with worry etched all over his face. He knew he was nervous for something which he had no ability to stop but still his principles forced him to ask the obvious question he was trying to ask Megan for the last two days. "Megan do you really want to do this? I mean, for Merlin's sake, don't you see what you are getting into? Don't you have any sense of self-preservation?"

Megan sighed as she heard the question she had been avoiding for the last two days. She knew Harry was worried about her safety. She had seen him trying hard not to show his worry but now she could see him freaking out. She knew it was difficult but Harry needed to accept her decision. So with determination she locked her eyes with Harry's and said, "Harry I don't know how to explain this but don't you see by becoming part of your world, your life I'm showing my selfishness. Don't you see if somehow this elixir works then I'll have a family of my own. I'll have you."

"But Megan, you have me already. You are risking your life unnecessarily." Harry tried desperately. Somehow he knew it was his last chance to save Megan from having a similar fate as Cedric's or his parents.

Megan stared at her nephew with admiration as Harry averted his eyes to hide his emotions. She did not need any magic to know what exactly was going through Harry's mind. She understood his frustration but also realized that she had to be there in the future if Harry needed her. It would be easier to help Harry if she revoked her magic. She did not want to become a dead weight on Harry. She just wanted to be there with Harry; for Harry. Controlling her own emotions she gently caught Harry's chin and made him look at her.

"Harry, I know what you are thinking but trust me I'm determined to do this. I really want to help you, protect you. So if that means I have to endure this ritual or some kind of magical battle then I'm totally set for it. Oh and I don't have any immediate plans to leave you Harry. If this convinces you then I promise you that I'll do my best to live long enough to see you out live Voldemort himself. Now cheer up, its time to taste that damn elixir."

Megan's word did not erase Harry's fear of losing her but they did encourage him to accept her decision.

"Okay, Megan but I want one more promise from you. In the future you will not put yourself in danger without discussing it first with me. Promise me you will be careful from now on. Because there are dangerous people who, once know you are related to me, will not hesitate to hurt you."

Megan gave a sardonic smile and said sarcastically, "Yes, I promise, _mother_. Now anything else you want?"

Harry only smiled in reply and followed Megan to the backyard, the place Dumbledore chose for the ritual.

When Harry and Megan went to the back yard, they did not believe what they saw there. The wild, grassy garden was gone and was replaced by an ultraclean ground surrounded by a perfectly groomed wall of thick hedge. Although the ground was empty, it looked beautiful- covered in the shining glitter of the moonlight. Harry knew it would have taken him months to clear it manually. Curiously he looked around and found both Dumbledore and Snape were waving their wands in the air. Harry didn't know what they were exactly doing but he could see shimmering puffs of silver and golden discharging from their wand tips and forming layers of translucent dome around Megan's entire property. Harry looked amazed by the handiwork shown by his both professors.

But Harry's amazement was nothing compared to Megan's awestruck expression. She had never seen such a display before. It was mesmerizing. The silver and golden reminded her of a laser show she had seen at Niagara Falls. If possible she would have watched the magical show the entire night but unfortunately it ended a few minutes later when suddenly the dome shimmered blue-red and disappeared with a frizzling noise. The only words that came from her mouth were, "Wow!"

"Yeah really wow!" Harry repeated Megan's word but the use of magic made him wonder about how it would affect the Elixir. At first he wanted to ask about it but then realized it was stupid to consider Dumbledore was ignoring the Elixir's safety. And secondly it might be normal as the Elixir had matured enough. So instead of interrupting he focused his thoughts on the ritual he knew nothing about.

Once finished with the incantation Dumbledore waved cheerfully at Harry and Megan but Snape remained coldly unaffected. The old wizard stepped forward toward the center of the yard and drew a Hexagon on the ground using his wand. He checked the diagram for something and when satisfied he called Megan, Harry and Severus to join him beside the diagram.

Once the three of them gathered he gazed seriously at them and said, "Once all of you mix your blood with the Elixir it will be ready for consumption. I suggest if you have any queries you must ask them before we start the ritual."

Harry and Megan looked thoughtful but there was nothing they wanted to ask, they just wanted to finish with the ritual.

Dumbledore looked expectantly at Harry but it was Severus's grave looks that raised worry in the old wizard's mind. He knew his Potion Master not only had excellent knowledge of brewing but also had an expertise in the Dark Arts. Rather Dumbledore was the one who had saved Severus fourteen years ago from obsessing over dark magic. And from Severus's grave looks Dumbledore guessed it was not the first time Severus came across the Hexagon of Dimensions. So with an understanding Dumbledore spoke.

"Severus, don't forget magic itself is not light or dark, the intensions of the user decides the outcome. And off course this ritual is far away from any darkness."

The word 'dark magic' caught Harry's attention but what surprised him more was the disapproval shown by his Potion Master who everyone knew always had a liking for the Dark Arts.

"You know there will be side effects of using the Hexagon to open the dimensions? As I recon the Elixir is matured enough to sustain the magic flush but the whole ritual will undoubtedly take a toll on your own magic. You need to be careful Albus" said the Potion Master critically.

"Severus, I understand your implication but trust me I will be fine. With a little sacrifice of my magic I will ensure that Megan will get something that is rightfully hers. Now if you are ready then I suggest you add your blood to Elixir and take your place on alterative vertices of the Hexagon."

Dumbledore flicked his wand, a wine goblet appeared in midair from nowhere. He caught the glass and retrieved the vial containing the golden looking Elixir from his robe pockets. He emptied the content of the vial in the goblet and held it in front of Severus.

With ease Severus magically nicked his thumb and dropped three drops of his blood in the goblet. Wand still in hand he looked at Harry and ordered, "Potter, your hand."

Harry obliged and presented his right palm.

" _Incido_ " spoke Severus and Harry jerked his hand back. A tiny cut on his thumb appeared and began to bleed. Dumbledore lowered the goblet and Harry let three blood drops trickle into the golden Elixir. As soon as Dumbledore took away the goblet Harry examined his cut. It was shallow but still he threw an annoyed look at his Potion Master which he just ignored.

"Well done Harry. Now Megan if you please" said Dumbledore looking at Megan.

Without any hesitation Megan held her palm in front of Severus who a moment later repeated the cutting incantation. With great concentration Megan dropped three drops of her blood into the goblet and waited for her next instructions.

" _Misceo_ " whispered Dumbledore tapping his wand lightly on the goblet.

The Elixir responded to Dumbledore's incantation and begun mixing with the blood. Few seconds passed and it lost its golden color and became wine red.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Dumbledore after observing the completed Elixir and then entered the Hexagon. Exactly at the centre he stood and signaled Megan, Harry and Severus to take their places at the alternative vertices. Megan and Harry followed Severus's lead and took the places around Dumbledore.

Megan watched her nephew's headmaster with curiosity. At that moment Dumbledore was wearing a very sober looking cream colored robe which was quite unusual but it was giving him a sacred sage like appearance. He looked old, calm and assuring. But somehow Megan knew behind these serene looks the old wizard was concealing a great power and strength. The conversation that happened a moment ago made her feel grateful and respectful of the elderly wizard.

Harry watched Dumbledore raising and offering the Goblet to the Moon so the silver moonlight penetrated the Elixir. In only a period of two months, it was the second time he was taking part in an important ritual. The first ritual was the resurrection of Voldemort which made him shiver. Although both rituals involved the use of his blood, Harry now knew what exactly made the difference. As Dumbledore said, it was the intension of the user that made it either dark or light.

Aware of his surrounding Dumbledore lowered the Goblet still illuminated by moonlight. Concentrating all his willpower he tapped the goblet for a second time by his wand and began a sing song like incantation. It was an ancient language, which he had learnt a long time ago. The incantation was nothing but a praise and invitation to the moon's spirit to awaken the power trapped in all elements as well as the participants of the ritual. The hexagon was just serving as a doorway to channel all this magical power. The magical Hexagon once triggered would identify its receiver, which in this case was Megan who added her blood last indicating that the first two were donors.

With a passing second Dumbledore's pace of incantation increased. The serene incantation made Severus, Megan and Harry enter a trance like phase. They had a feeling that something ethereal would be happening soon and they need to be ready for that. For a moment nothing happened but then the Hexagon started to glow. Except for Dumbledore the glow under their feet made them nervous. All of them began to feel invisible waves of energy encircling them. A moment passed and the brightness heightened to a level that the entire Hexagon bathed in pure white light. The time passed but the white light remained vibrating around them like waiting for something. And then it happened.

A huge surge of power burst from hexagon and forced its way through every participant involved in the ritual. All of them felt a high tide of energy pass their entire body. For a fleeting moment they felt connected to each other, sharing something very intense but undefined. Somewhere deep inside they felt something was healing, something was repairing of its own accord filling their hearts with joy and satisfaction.

Everyone was enjoying the warmth of the moon magic but it ended as abruptly it started. One last time, the glow pulsed and then suddenly gathered around the goblet still in Dumbledore's hand.

Finally Dumbledore finished his incantation and once again everything became normal, even the Hexagon was gone. Dumbledore looked at the Elixir and was surprised. In place of red Elixir he found a silver liquid in goblet. With satisfaction he handed the goblet to Megan and said, "I think our ritual has its expected effect. Now drink a mouthful of this and then pass it Severus and Harry."

"Thank you Albus" said Megan politely accepting the now silvery elixir. Without a second thought she took a large sip from the goblet. The liquid was cool but as soon as it reached her stomach warmth started to diffuse inside her body. A drunken stupor filled her senses. She hastily passed the goblet to Severus and said tipsily, "It's yours Severus."

Before taking a sip from the Goblet, Severus eyed Megan suspiciously. He sniffed the goblet and immediately understood Megan's drunken state. With trepidation he raised the goblet and drank the mouthful of the exotically cool drink. He threw a skeptical look at an exhausted looking Dumbledore and passed the goblet at Harry.

Harry did not miss Megan's state nor Severus's accusing glance at Dumbledore after consuming the Elixir. He felt uneasy but then steeled himself and drank the remaining portion of Elixir in one go. The moment the heavenly sweet liquid passed through his throat he immediately understood the meaning of Severus's displeasure. A sense of drowsiness clouded his senses and in a few seconds his vision darkened as sleep took control of his entire body. The last thing he remembered was caught by a pair of strong arms which belonged to none other than Severus Snape!

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A.N.: In memory of beloved Alan Rickman. We will always miss him.


	9. Awakening

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

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 **Chapter Nine**

 **AWAKENING**

Severus scowled and ate the last bite of his sandwich. It was past noon, just an hour ago he had woken up with dizziness. His frustration increased when he realized he slept for almost sixteen hours and missed his meeting with Dumbledore who stayed last night at Megan's after exhausting his magic in the Celtic ritual. With an uncertain hope of finding Dumbledore still in the house Severus came downstairs. But all that he found was a note on the table saying that Dumbledore would return when he finished with his work and until then Severus was to remain there. With a few swear words he crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it into the dustbin. He looked for something to break as a streak subtle anger flickered in his mind but suddenly his stomach growled and forced him to the kitchen where the very mundane task of making sandwiches and tea calmed him down a little.

So waiting impatiently for his employer Severus took another sip of his scalding tea. The strong, pungent tea got rid of the hazy feeling lingering in his head and made him think clearly. The first obvious thought that came to him was the effects and the aftermath of last night's ritual. He was not new to the effects of alcoholic beverages but what he drank last night was beyond his imagination. Unfortunately he was not the only one who got affected; rather he was in much better shape than Harry and Megan, who dropped comatose the moment they drank the Elixir.

As Severus's head cleared out completely he remembered many minute details of last night such as helping Dumbledore put Harry and Megan to their respective beds and also feeling worried when he caught Harry in his arm. He remembered how he tried to recall every ingredient and its possible side effect responsible for Harry's condition. But everything turned out in vain when Dumbledore who was supporting Megan explained to him that it was not a side effect but body's way of adjusting with the Elixir's effects. Barring his own lethargy he wanted to know why the damn Elixir was affecting him exactly similar like Harry and Megan when it was not designed for him. He even tried to discuss it with Dumbledore but the old man just smiled and told Severus that they should discuss it in the morning. But unfortunately that morning never came for Severus as he over slept and gave Dumbledore a chance to escape the conversation. And that increased Severus's suspicions which made him realize that once again he was caught into some kind of long lasting plan tactfully devised by Dumbledore. Severus knew if he wanted to retain his sanity then he had to be more careful around Dumbledore and remove himself from Megan's house as quickly as possible.

The uncertain thoughts kept Severus so engrossed that he missed the soft footsteps entering the kitchen.

"Snape..? I… I mean Professor what are doing here? I thought you left", said a very puzzled looking Harry. He was expecting to see Megan not Snape.

Severus's thoughts snapped as he heard the voice he did not want to listen any time soon. He turned in the direction of the voice and opened his mouth for a condescending reply but as soon as he eyed Harry his words dissolved in his mouth. The boy looked as untidy as ever but there was something different about him. The first thing Snape noticed was that he was not wearing his glasses and without them his emerald eyes looked unusually vibrant. And that was not the only change. His famous scar looked dull, almost healed with the loss of its usual inflamed look. There was something else too about Harry that made Severus arch his eyebrow. He was sure that the Harry he saw last night was a few inches shorter than his current height which also meant that Harry looked lankier than ever.

Harry felt uneasy. He never liked someone staring at him especially his Potion Master. The scrutinizing gaze made him change his mind and leave the kitchen as quickly as possible. So he turned around but before he crossed the threshold he heard the command.

"Potter, come here."

Harry did not like the tone but obeyed and crossed the room. When he reached the table, he just stood there looking at the plate filled with sandwiches placed in front of Severus.

"Sit" said Severus without removing his eyes from Harry's face. He did not miss the glance Harry threw at the sandwiches. Without any ceremony he pushed the plate laden with sandwiches towards Harry and said, "Eat".

At first Harry did not touch the plate but then his stomach gave a hungry rumble and he dove into the sandwiches. Once started, he finished almost half of them. When he looked up he found a tall glass full of orange juice in front of him. He hesitantly looked at Severus but did not get any reaction. With a sigh he gulped down the juice and once again turned his eyes upward to find Severus staring at him.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair but Severus's black eyes remained glued to his face. Suddenly a thought popped in Harry's mind and he touched his scar. His guess was right. Something about his scar was different. With uncertainty he traced down the area where he had the lightning scar but to his surprise he did not feel the usual unevenness of scar tissue, instead the skin felt smooth. A longtime anticipation rose in his mind and he asked. "Has it gone?"

"No, it hasn't. Just looked faded or let's say healed" stated Severus as plainly as possible while watching Harry's every reaction carefully. He was expecting something like whining for losing the famous scar but what he sensed was hope.

"Oh, I thought it's gone" replied Harry dejectedly.

Severus heard the frustration but did not comment. Instead he tried to focus his thoughts on how to leave Megan's house as quickly as possible. Unfortunately it also reminded him that in last seven days he was being lenient about his Occlumency shields and if he did not strengthen them in time there would be serious consequences such as Voldemort finding out Severus's treacherous position as a spy as well Harry's new whereabouts. And no doubt any of such possibilities would mean a very painful death for Severus. So in essence he needed to stop his perplexing interactions with Harry as well as Megan before things began to get complicated further.

Harry quietly stared at his Potion master. He had seen that vacant, stony expression many times in the past. The Severus Snape he came to know in the last seven days was somewhat approachable, a version a notch less evil of his Hogwarts self and Harry appreciated the change. But now to witness that evil resurfacing again made Harry shrink in his chair. May be it was his misinterpretation or something else but a small part of him felt concerned about his Potion Master. For a moment he thought about vocalizing his anxiety but before he said anything he heard another voice which belonged to Megan, the person of the hour.

"Oh, here you guys are. That's great. I think I slept too much and I'm really hungry. Do you mind Harry if I took those sandwiches?" asked Megan hurriedly.

"Sure, help yourself Megan" replied Harry but Megan was not listening to him. Her gaze was fixed on the sandwich.

Megan's entry startled Severus a bit but what troubled him more were her eyes. Similar to Harry's they looked vibrant, filled with life and energy but that was not the entire change. There was something else too. Severus failed to notice it at first but as he continued to stare he found it. Megan's olive eyes shimmered with an unusual golden ring around her irises. Unwillingly Severus had accepted the fact that the change in her eyes intensified her beauty and her untidy attire added a wildness to it.

For a moment Severus eyes left Megan and caught Harry's. What he found there was a foolish twinkle. But unfortunately for Harry Severus knew exact reason behind that.

Apparently Harry found Severus's staring at Megan intriguing. For a moment he remembered the fragment of his dream he saw at time of Elixir's brewing. The thought of being part of a family made him happy but then he saw the harsh look on his potion master's face and heard the fragile fantasy break into thousand pieces of malicious reality. He knew he chose a very bad time to fantasize.

Severus struggled for a vicious response to stop whatever Harry was thinking about him but what came from his mouth was certainly not what he was expecting to say. "Potter, why are you not wearing your glasses?"

"What?" asked Harry with confusion.

At that exact moment Megan finished her last sandwich and looked up to find Harry throwing a quizzical look at Severus. She used the moment to observe Harry and caught all changes that Severus had been watching without showing any interest. But this was about Harry, her nephew, her own blood and she could not simply neglect the changes. Anyway the scientist in her never would allow it. "Harry you look totally different. I can't believe but your scar, it looked healed. And oh my god, I bet you have grown a few inches overnight!"

Megan looked happy and excited. She was not expecting the Elixir to cause something of this magnitude. The change she was seeing in Harry was not only superficial but as per her knowledge they were on a molecular and genetic level too. And it totally baffled her. Like an expert she caught Harry's chin observed his now brightly sparkling eyes. "Am I right to consider that you won't need those damn glasses from now on."

"I think so" said Harry smiling. He knew Magic was amazing but never thought it would be this effective.

"Trust me Harry, you look handsome without those glasses. With those beautiful emerald eyes I think you have a pretty good chance of winning the heart of any girl you want."

Harry did not reply but blushed as Cho's pretty face flashed in his mind. But then he remembered Cedric and his happiness clouded by his own guilt.

Severus noticed the change in Harry's mood, but it was Megan who comprehended it correctly. Unlike many of her past experiences the current one was striking. In the past she could feel others' feelings but those were muted experiences. It was like she was feeling those emotions from far away, veiled by curtains of heavy fabric. But now there was no barrier between her and Harry's mind. She was feeling Harry's emotions like her own. Everything was crystal clear; the pain, guilt and suffering shooting directly from her own heart. The pain escalated for a few seconds and then everything got fogged by numbness. Megan failed to realize what was happening with her, the only thing she remembered was that a storm of emotions had triggered something inside her and everything began to vibrate outside her.

Severus and Harry stopped watching Megan casually; both knew something was not right. Something unusual was happening with Megan. At first she looked grief stricken and then the tears began to flow from her closed eyes. A moment passed and when she opened her eyes Severus immediately retrieved his wand. The reason behind his alert was clear. The moment ago Megan's eyes which looked olive green was now looking like two golden orbs emitting fire.

Without thinking more Severus bolted out from his chair and shouted at Harry who was lost in looking at Megan. "POTTER, REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THAT CHAIR AND GO TO HALL."

"But? I can help?" Harry tried.

In a hurry Severus walked around table and caught Harry's collar, forcing him to vacate his chair. When Harry looked up he found himself looking at a very determined Snape. "For Merlin's sake Potter listen for once. Look at her, she looks dangerous and unstable. And if I'm not wrong then her Magic is awakening; which also means you should not be here around her."

For first time in his life Harry found logic in Severus's command but still did not want to leave Megan alone in some bizarre situation. He stumbled towards kitchen's door as he felt another push from Severus. Unwillingly he steadied himself and stopped at the threshold. Severus himself followed Harry and then it actually began to happen.

The air particles surrounding Megan began to glitter with a silver shine. In a fraction of a second Megan got surrounded by thick silvery mist. The atmosphere in the kitchen became charged and then everything began to vibrate and fall.

Severus pushed Harry protectively behind him and aimed his wand in front of him. He had two options; either stun Megan or conjure a strongest shield around him and Harry. A moment passed and without any confusion he chose the second option. With an excellent fluidity he conjured a thick blue magical wall totally covering him and Harry. The moment the shield completed, a bright wave of energized particles that originated from Megan struck everything that came in way. It collided with shield with ferocity but the magical wall absorbed the shock. Within a few seconds Harry witnessed the destruction of Megan's kitchen for which she had invested many efforts and money.

When Harry and Severus steadied themselves they found clouds of dust covering everything around them. Few minutes passed and when dust settled a little, they saw something remarkable. There stood a very bewildered looking Megan at the center of the ruble. She did not have a single scratch. With the same confused look she stared at Harry and Severus, still hiding behind their shield.

Harry began to poke the shield and forced Severus to remove it but Severus's suspicions did not falter. Rather he took his own time to remove it. The moment the shield vanished Harry dashed towards Megan and asked breathlessly, "Megan, are you alright? What was that? You scared us."

Megan with her now normal olive eyes stared at Harry and then out of blue hugged him. She didn't know why she did that but it felt like a haze occluding her brain had just cleared out and what she was experiencing now she had no words to describe. For the first time over the last few days she felt really connected to the child that she held against her chest and unexpectedly to the man dourly standing at the kitchen's threshold.

Finally Severus left his spot with caution and approached Megan. Megan heard the footsteps and with bit of embarrassment freed Harry from the hug. "I'm sorry Harry, but I think I'm feeling just fine. Rather never felt this good before."

"Ms. Spencer, do you mind to step away from here so I can deal with this mess?"

Megan gave a guilty smile to Severus and moved away from the kitchen table which luckily survived the shock. With a smile Megan reached the door but instead of leaving she turned around suddenly. For a minute her gaze searched something. Her eyes glinted momentarily as she saw the object of her interest, a carton of orange juice. She was thirsty and needed it desperately. A thought combined with a mere action, and bingo the juice carton zoomed to her which she caught in time just by extending her right arm.

"Wow! How did you do that Megan?" asked Harry unbelievably.

Megan stared at carton in her hand, shook her head in disbelief and uttered just few words. "I think the Elixir has really worked..!"

Severus opened his mouth to say something but before he did that he heard a familiar voice which he was dying to listen to since morning. It belonged to Dumbledore.

"Merlin's beard..! What happened here?" asked a Dumbledore.

"I think, the Elixir worked and Megan showed her first magic after almost destroying the kitchen" explained an excited Harry.

With a relieved smile Dumbledore offered his congratulations. "Indeed an extraordinary development and a reason to celebrate. But we should clear this first."

Without any warning the old wizard fetched his wand, waved it whispering a simple _'Repairo'_.

The things cluttered and banged with each other for a few minutes and then finally took their old places over and inside many cabinets that lined the kitchen wall. Harry and Megan stood there enjoying the little feat of magic until Dumbledore asked all of them to join him in the hall.

They followed Dumbledore to the main hall. Once they took their seats around the coffee table Dumbledore began talking. "As all of you have been wondering where I had gone this morning I would like to tell you that I was at the Ministry of Magic. It was Arthur who suggested to me a few days ago that I must visit the ministry and try to find out why Cornelius has been visiting the International Confederation of Wizards and Wizengamot members secretively. So I went to the ministry and visited a few of my old friends. As expected they cooperated and gave me certain clues. When I visited Cornelius myself he tried to avoid me. Apparently he was searching a correct time to convey to me about the decision of my demotion as Chief Warlock on Wizengamot. But unfortunately I surprised him. As usual he denied it and babbled but when the conversation got heated he threatened me of removing me from Hogwarts too, and that's exactly what Arthur told me to confirm.

"Did this happening because you supported me for talking about Voldemort's return?" asked Harry as he understood the gravity of situation.

"Harry, do not blame yourself for this. This is not your fault. It's because we have a minister who is frightened of the truth, and has alliances with wrong wizards." Dumbledore paused for a moment then looked directly at Harry and added. "Harry, weak people always try to hide from vicious truths because they know that once they accept it they have to defend or vacate their power to the throne. So instead of fighting they hide and pretend nothing bad has happened."

Dumbledore stopped and gave Harry a few seconds to digest. Meanwhile he observed both Harry and Megan with a satisfied smile. From his observations he knew Megan was ready for the next step. And that reminded him of another thing. He searched his robe and found what he was looking for. It was a wand, 10 and quarter inch, willow with dragon heart string. He looked at the wand with fondness and pride. At first he was not certain about his decision but now after watching the extent of the disaster caused by Megan there remained no such doubt in his mind.

Severus's eyes narrowed the moment Dumbledore retrieved the wand from his robe pocket. It was more than a decade but he still knew whom that wand belonged to. He knew exactly why that wand was ownerless. It was painful but unfortunately he knew almost everything about the wand except how it ended up in Dumbledore's hand. And he wanted to know it, so he asked. "Albus, I thought it was destroyed, but obviously it wasn't. May I know where exactly you found Lily's wand?"

Dumbledore eyed Severus without showing his surprise. In slow motion he placed the wand on the coffee table and answered. "Alastor Moody was one of the Auror's who searched Potter's house after Voldemort attacked them." Dumbledore glanced sympathetically at Megan and Harry before continued, "Alastor failed to find Voldemort's wand but found two others. On instinct he brought them to me and reported not found in his Auror report. So I kept them safe thinking maybe they will come in handy someday in the future."

"And do you think it will chose Megan?" asked Severus skeptically.

"Honestly speaking I have never been in such a situation before this. Who knows? May be traces of Lily's magic will identify Megan's and influence the wand's core to accept its new owner." Dumbledore glanced at Megan and suggested something he was planning on his way back from the ministry. "Megan, why don't you give it a try and help us to solve this mystery?"

All the time Megan was there but she was quiet. Both Harry and Severus thought she was listening to Dumbledore but she wasn't. Instead of listening she was trying to read the old wizard but something was obstructing her and that was quite unusual when she was clearly sensing despair and longing from Harry and Severus. She knew both of them were missing Lily terribly.

"Megan...? Are you alright?" asked Harry the moment he realized she was not listening to Dumbledore. To make sure she was with them he even tapped her lightly on her arm. The stimulus was enough to bring Megan back to physical world.

When she looked up she found Dumbledore staring at her through his half moon glasses. "Megan, I was asking you to try Lily's wand. If this wand refused your ownership then we must visit Ollivander's."

Megan remembered Harry telling her about how wands select their owner. Megan halted a bit before picking up her twin sister's wand. She looked at Harry who nodded to encourage her.

"Just twist your wrist upward and say _lumos_ " Dumbledore instructed.

With anticipation Megan picked up the wand. A warmth burst through her fingers and silvery sparks flew from the wand's tip. The sparks not only brightened the surroundings but they also enlightened Megan's soul. A soothing sensation spread through her every nerve and tendon. She felt like finding a lost piece of her soul; healing and making her complete. The ultimate happiness made her confident enough to encircle her fingers around the wand. She felt waves of energy emerging from her core, flowing under and through her skin and finally meeting to the magic pulsating within the wand itself. The two magics intertwined together and became one and Megan realized she got her very own first wand.

Megan remembered the instruction. She turned her wrist in upward direction and incanted " _Lumos_ ".

A bright ball of light appeared on wand's tip.

"Excellent" Dumbledore exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Wow that's really quick! But did you feel any stinging coming from wand? I mean I had to try many before my wand selected me. A few of them were quite nasty", provided Harry remembering his own experience.

"No, it's good. I don't know how to explain this but holding this wand felt absurdly natural, like I have been using it for years", explained Megan observing her brightly illuminating wand with curiosity. "I still can't believe that I'm holding this stick and doing some fairy tale stuff. It's really amazing Harry." She paused for a while and then asked. "How do I switch off this light?"

"Just say _Nox_ " suggested Harry.

Dumbledore mused as he watched the exchange between Megan and Harry. The guilt of not giving Harry a normal childhood was still there but now he knew there was hope and this time he would not be making any rash decisions. So one task done he was ready to deal with the next. "Harry and Megan, as you both can see that the Elixir has done a perfect job, it seems necessary that we should resolve other problems too, which include Megan's introduction to a bunch of witches and wizards who belong to a secrete group known as the "Order of Phoenix". And the second task that has more importance than anything else is Megan's magical training."

Harry's mind perked when he heard the word "Order of Phoenix". He wanted to know more about it but Dumbledore did not give him a chance to ask anything instead he continued with his plan.

"Tomorrow, I'm thinking of arranging an Order meeting; let's say at five in the evening at the headquarters. Sirius has agreed to let us use his house for the Order's meeting, which was quite a good decision. The place is in bad shape but Molly with her family volunteered to clean it up."

"So that means I can meet Ron and the others there?" asked Harry hoping for best.

"Yes, you can. And can stay there for few days if you want to. I'm sure Megan would like to learn few things from Molly, Remus and Sirius."

Megan and Harry both liked the suggestion but Severus didn't. He never liked the idea of being surrounded by any of the Weasleys nor Sirius or Remus. The only time they came face to face was during afew Order meetings and it was absolute torture for him. But apparently it was a relief that finally Dumbledore was relieving him from his babysitting duties and he was wise enough to say nothing and clouded his chance of getting out.

The second time in an hour Dumbledore removed something from his robe and put it on the coffee table. It was a round box filled with tiny crystals which glittered dark green when exposed to light. It was floo powder.

"Last week we found a secure or let's say an illegally hidden floo connection in headquarters and as per Nymphodora's information it never been on Ministries floo network. After careful examination Alastor and I cleared it of jinxes and any kind of dangerous magic. It's safe to use now."

Dumbledore said the last sentence and looked at Megan. He knew he was pushing his luck but also had chances of succeeding if he tried carefully. "Megan I've taken the liberty and added your house to the Headquarters floo network. I've also connected it to Hogwarts floo network too."

"What? You have done what?" Megan panicked a little.

"It's nothing. I just magicked your fireplace so you can use it for transportation from your house to Headquarters or Hogwarts and back."

"How does it work exactly?" Megan asked as the information increased her curiosity.

This time Harry answered. "We use floo networks to travel from one destination to another. And to activate it we throw floo powder in the fireplace. Once it gets ignited we enter in it and just utter the name of the destination as clearly as possible. It's simple but I never got used to using it."

"I hope you will be using passwords and few obscuring charms from hiding it from the ministry." Severus commented as a scene of Death Eaters swarming Megan's house flashed through his mind.

"Yes, it has been taken care of."

"Oh, I almost forgot a very interesting thing to ask you. If it is possible can you tell me how you and Ms. Lena McKnight knew each other? I think it will be wonderful if we bring a few lost souls together before we jump in this upcoming war."

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AN: To all… Thank you for reading and supporting.


	10. Lost and Found

**Disclaimer** : I don't own any character, plot or anything mentioned in the amazing universe of Harry Potter created by J.K. Rowling. Every single bit of the Harry Potter book series and films belongs to J.K. Rowling, certain publishing houses and Worner Bros. Besides a hobby I'm not making any profits by writing these stories.

….

 **CHAPTER 10**

 **LOST AND FOUND**

Sirius tossed the last dusty bottle containing something that looked suspiciously like blood into a pile of junk they had been collecting the last few days. It was an impossible task to clean the entire house, but somehow Mrs. Weasley and her team had managed it in a week. Sirius never knew he was living in junkyard until they all collected and confiscated heaps of things that were either jinxed or so gruesome that no one dared touch them. At first it was frustrating but then the cleaning of number 12, Grimmauld Place became an interesting task for Sirius. He enjoyed being surrounded by so many red heads after spending twelve years alone in the most horrendous prison on earth; it was like finding an oasis in a dessert after running for hundreds of miles.

With a mixture of feelings Sirius looked around and observed his ancestral house now cleaned and neatly arranged that was a few centuries old. In the past he hadn't liked the house or the people staying in it. But now the house looked different, much more habitable except for two things, the ever screaming ugly portrait of his mother and her annoying old elf, Kreacher. Other than that the house looked perfect; and it had accepted him as the sole heir and Lord of Ancient and Nobel house of Black.

But in spite of getting wealth and alleged titles Sirius never felt he deserved any of it. He felt lonely and helpless. Deep down he knew it was his own rash choices that ultimately made him responsible for James and Lily's murder. And it did not stop there; he made another foolish decision and ran after Pettigrew leaving behind an orphaned Harry to grow up with Lily's atrocious sister Petunia Dursley. In other words he lost his only hope of having a family with his godson and ended up in Azkaban. And it stung whenever he watched Arthur and Molly surrounded by their children spending happy and sad moments together.

But what Sirius failed to see was that those twelve years in Azkaban had changed him. The Dementors floating around Azkaban forced him to rewind many things he did wrong in the past. The tremendous pain of those memories planted seeds of remorse in his mind. He became more mature, sensitive and sensible than his past self. And the only thing that kept him sane during this period was his animagus form. In the end only those canine instincts helped him escape from Azkaban. He did not realize it but it had only been two years since he was out of Azkaban and the gashes on his mind were already healing, helping his brain to accept and prepare him for the changes he never thought would be happening around him.

As minute passed Sirius's thoughts once again became heavier, trapped under the burden of his past mistakes but like a ritual once again the canine inside him took hold of his senses and focused them on something mundane like a loud bang coming from the kitchen. The trick worked as Sirius's hopeless thoughts broke their rhythm and he realized Fred and George were again getting a sharp rebuking from Mrs. Weasley. Their combined voices increased and Sirius decided it was time he should interfere and help the poor twins to get away from Molly.

With a chuckle Sirius turned towards the kitchen but before he reached the stairs leading down he heard a whooshing, a sound of the hearth flaring. At first he thought it was coming from the kitchen hearth but then he realized it was not. Without wasting any more time he retrieved his wand and ran towards the storage room on the ground floor where he found the hidden fireplace a few days ago.

The moment he reached there he aimed his wand at the intruder. Fortunately it was just Dumbledore but still Sirius did not lower his wand, instead he stood there prepared to attack.

"I'm testing and securing all ends of this floo network" replied Dumbledore to a watchful Sirius.

"Okay, tell me where you told me to stay when you apprehended Barty Crouch Jr.?" Sirius asked with suspicion.

"I think, a black dog stayed inside Hagrid's hut until I told Minerva to fetch it. Is that enough?" asked Dumbledore with a smile. He did not come out until Sirius pocketed his wand.

Although Sirius was waiting for the evening meeting this untimely visit from Dumbledore puzzled him.

Dumbledore looked around and found the room in a much better shape than he saw it two days ago. It was cleaned and arranged in order so it could be used as a conference room. Someone had added a central table big enough to accommodate thirty chairs. Dumbledore liked the arrangement.

"Very thoughtful arrangement Sirius, I like it."

"It was Molly and her children's suggestion, especially the twins. They helped a lot" Sirius explained with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I would say they are quite resourceful when it comes to ideas. Arthur and Molly are fortunate to have them." Dumbledore observed Sirius keenly when he added the last sentence. He knew it was the correct time to tell Sirius about the new developments he had come across.

"Sirius, do you mind if we sit together and talk?"

Sirius eyes glinted with curiosity. He was dying to go out and do something useful. "Sure, let's talk."

Dumbledore took a seat at the nearby chair and waved at Sirius to do the same. He did not remember the last time he had seen Sirius this keenly. He knew Azkaban left its mark on every prisoner, there was always some sort of damage, and it pained him to see the vacant look in Sirius's eyes, which were once filled with life and vigor. With a sigh, without stretching that moment any further Dumbledore broached the subject.

"Sirius, Harry will be coming here today." Dumbledore stopped as he saw the earlier hopelessness be replaced by remorse, hope and joy.

When Sirius spoke his voice trembled. "Harry is coming..!" He repeated the sentence. And then there came panic. "But it's early. You said he needed to live there at least four to six weeks. It's necessary for his safety. Then what happened? Why he is coming here early?"

"Things have changed in the last two weeks. Something unexpected happened."

"And what is that? Is Harry alright?" asked Sirius anxiously. He knew something was not right.

"He is alright, rather in much better shape now. And if I'm not wrong then it will persist until Petunia willingly asks Harry to return."

"Please tell me you are finally saying that he can live with me?"

Dumbledore hated to crush the hope but he also knew how stubborn Sirius could be. So he replied a little firmly. "I'm sorry Sirius but that's not what I'm saying. In the current situation, your status as fugitive is making it difficult and Harry has suffered enough." Sirius tried not to look down at those words.

"Sirius, I'm not saying you will be an unsuitable guardian for him; what I'm trying to emphasize is in times like this you should not be his only support. Apart from you, he needs someone who shares a true connection with him and will able to give him guidance, support and love. Sirius, whether the ministry agrees or not, we know a war is coming and Harry is the only hope we have. Our future depends on his correct decisions and actions. And to make those decisions he will need strength, something that cannot be induced in him if he loses his focus in looking after you." Dumbledore's blue eyes scanned Sirius. He knew it was heartbreaking to see Sirius trying to accept the harsh facts and there was nothing he could do to change that.

A part of Sirius wanted to hurl a few nasty curses at the resigned old wizard but the rational part of him knew it was his own 'karma', the results of bad choices he made in the past. For him everything looked hopeless now. A surge of pain spiked through his chest and he spoke, "Albus if you are here to tell me that I need to revoke my rights as Harry's Godfather then my answer is NO. I've already failed him once but not now. There is a chance we could be together as a family and he… he likes me and I'm sure he will be happy with me rather than that horrible Petunia."

Dumbledore didn't speak until Sirius was done with his furious ranting. "Sirius I'm certainly not here to take Harry away from you. Instead I'm here to inform you about a few interesting developments" Dumbledore paused to check if he had Sirius's full attention.

"Two weeks ago Severus accidently came across something that we never thought would ever happen."

Sirius's jaws tightened as he heard the name of the person he hated with a burning passion, he opened his mouth in protest but Dumbledore simply ignored it and continued with his tale.

"Severus found Harry wandering in some sort of garden nursery, far away from Private Drive with a woman who had striking similarities with Lily. On instinct instead of confronting them right there, Severus decided to investigate and so he followed them. When the chance came he apprehended the woman and without wasting time he summoned me."

"Merlin's hat! Is Harry ok? I want to see him, NOW" Sirius bolted from his chair and ran to the fireplace but then he realized he didn't know Harry's whereabouts. He glared at the calmly seated Dumbledore and once again plopped down in his earlier seat.

"Sirius, please Harry is not in any immediate danger, in fact he is in very capable hands. So be calm and listen to what I'm telling you."

Sirius felt ashamed for his thoughtless behavior in the presence of his old teacher. It occurred to him that if Harry was really in some kind of danger Dumbledore wouldn't be sitting there with him so casually. So without causing any more nuisance he sat there, ready to hear whatever Dumbledore had come to tell him.

"Now where was I? Oh yes, about this woman who we thought was Lily's imposter turned out to be Lily's biological twin sister. Immediately after her birth she was given up to be adopted by Lily's parents under very unusual circumstances and they kept it a secret. So when Ms. Megan Spencer, a grown woman returned to England to find her lost family she only found Petunia and Harry. Apparently the Dursleys were planning a vacation without Harry so Megan took him in."

"Lily's twin sister, that's impossible! And that wretched Petunia, how dared she think of leaving Harry alone in that stupid house?" Sirius failed to prevent his outburst.

"Yes, it was unexpected but I think anything is better than Petunia. I always thought that maybe someday Petunia will accept Harry as her own son but I misjudged her. And Megan also proved me wrong by accepting Harry for who he is. She did not even blink before going through an unknown magical ritual to wake her slumbering magical core in order to protect Harry which of course will put her in a great danger. It was incredible but she showed courage and desire to face every risk and responsibility that came with Harry. In essence after a long time I might have found a suitable family for Harry." Dumbledore paused and waited for another denial from Sirius but this time Sirius surprised him by staying calm.

"So how is this Megan? Is Harry happy with her?" Sirius sounded genuine when he asked the question.

"Yes, it seems Harry is enjoying his stay at Megan's. They both look happy for having each other." Dumbledore saw Sirius avert his eyes as moisture leaked from his eyes. "Sirius, my boy" prompted the wise wizard "This doesn't mean Harry doesn't need you anymore. On the contrary, not only did Harry need you now so does Megan. Sirius, she is new to our world and before Voldemort finds out about her existence we have to teach her how to master her magical skills. In other words her safety and training is now our prime responsibility and I would like you along with others to help me to achieve this."

"So you don't want me to leave Harry? And... and you really want me to help this Megan to became a witch?" asked Sirius to confirm that what he was hearing was in fact correct.

"Yes, Sirius that's what I'm asking."

"Oh, then I'm fine with it. So when are we meeting Megan?"

"I'm thinking of introducing her to a few order members this evening and if you don't mind, I suggest you invite Megan as well as Harry to stay here for a while."

"Of course I will. Anyway its time someone visited this house and appreciated our efforts in cleaning it. And I know Harry would like it. "

"Yes, I think so" Dumbledore replied sincerely thinking about the other important topic he came there to talk about.

Sirius did not remember when he felt this euphoric. He wanted to cease that moment forever. He even ignored Dumbledore's annoying stare at him so he could plan about spending his time with Harry. The thoughts were pleasant but they were soon interrupted by Dumbledore uttering Sirius name.

"Sirius, there was something else you must know."

A slight frown marred Sirius's brow as he wondered what Dumbledore would like to share now.

"When I first met Megan I searched her mind for ensuring Harry's safety. Everything I came across was normal except for one thing. In one of her memories I saw her meeting with a woman. At first I thought my eyes were fooling me but then later I analyzed the memory a few more times and found that I knew this woman. It was Marlene McKinnon."

For a few seconds nothing happened but then a happy memory rose in Sirius's mind. A beautiful woman with golden hair and an almond shaped face tiptoed and wrapped her hands around his neck. Sirius inhaled the jasmine sent of her hair. The fragrance calmed his racing heart but his ears yarned to hear the answer to his proposal. A moment passed and the women resting in his arms whispered 'yes'. A grin appeared on his handsome face and he swept Marlene, the love of his life, in the air. The memory ended and a lone tear slipped from his already moist eyes. "No, that's impossible. You are lying. They killed my Marlene. They took her from me. I remember the news. It was just a week after she said yes to marry me. You sent Remus and me to pursue some wizards in the north and when we returned I didn't even find her body for the funeral. They slaughtered her entire family, including her" Sirius voice shuddered as the sharp pain of the deluge of decade old wounds flooded his senses.

Dumbledore had his suspicion about Sirius and Marlene being involved romantically but he never knew they were this serious. He felt a new level of pity for Sirius.

"Sirius, I'm really sorry for everything that you have lost. It was a very difficult time but now things are different. To accomplish his precariously repugnant plans Voldemort is hiding in the dark but unknowingly he is also delaying war, sparing us time to heal and settle our unfinished business. Maybe now is your chance to fulfill your dreams, responsibilities and destiny. And who knows, maybe Marlene will be instrumental to that."

Sirius stared absently at Dumbledore trying to hold on to the memories resurfacing in his mind, trying to feel the happiness trapped in them. His grief stricken mind tried to comprehend why such absurd things were happening with him when he didn't deserve them. There was also another question, if Marlene was alive all those years then why did she never come to see him? Just a thought and he realized the answer. "Albus, I'm a murderer and that was a good reason why she broke up with me. She didn't want a mass murderer for a husband."

Dumbledore did not miss the efforts Sirius took to quench his grief, but there was nothing he could do to undo the bitter past. The only thing in his hand was to encourage Sirius to accept his changing fortune. "No, you are not a murderer and she didn't break up with you. It was her uncle who changed your story."

"What..? I don't understand. She never told me that she had an uncle and what I heard was that Voldemort wiped her entire family, no one left."

"Her uncle was a squib and you know how old magical families never liked to acknowledge their existence. But apparently Marlene's mother had a soft corner for her younger brother, who grew up in the muggle world to become a successful businessman. Like her mother Marlene remained in his touch. So when Death Eaters attacked her mansion, somehow he helped her to escape. He nursed her fatal injuries and saved her but unfortunately he failed to cure her amnesia."

"Where is she now? How did you get all this information?" Sirius fired his questions as hope begun to escalate in his mind.

"Slow down Sirius, she is not going anywhere soon. She lives in St. Albans, not that far from London. She has a real estate business in the muggle world and because of that Megan came in contact with her. It was indeed Marlene, now known as Ms. Lena McKnight who helped Megan buy a house. After that event both women became good acquaintances without having any knowledge about their past lives. So the tale I'm discussing with you has came from Harry not from Megan. It was a coincidence that Megan took Harry for a business lunch where she introduced him to Marlene and her daughter Ms. Rhea McKnight who Harry immediately recognized as a third year student from Hogwarts. While they were chatting Rhea told this intriguing story to Harry about how her mother fought against Voldemort's followers and then escaped with her uncle to start a new life with no memories of her past life."

Sirius was taken aback by the last piece of information. The thought of Marlene having moved on did not cross his mind until that moment and it was upsetting. He felt foolish to think otherwise.

Dumbledore realized his mistake of not clearing things properly. So before Sirius could jump to any conclusions he continued. "Sirius, what I gather from Harry's information about Marlene's daughter is that Marlene was pregnant with her when she was vanished from the magical world. Oh and what I remember about Ms. Rhea McKnight is that she has your face, eyes and a knack for mischief."

"Albus, you are insane. A moment ago you told me that Lily has a twin sister, then you tell me Marlene is alive and now you are suggesting that I may have a daughter?"

Dumbledore gave a gentle smile on hearing Sirius's skeptical question. "I know this is baffling but trust me I've personally investigated everything before sharing it with you. So yes Ms. Rhea McKnight is your and Marlene's daughter and if you both allow it then a simple paternity test will clear everything." Dumbledore stared amusingly through his half moon glasses, a part of him was excited to see how Sirius would play the role of a father when the said child had similar hobbies and habits that Sirius had as a child. "Sirius if you don't have any objections then I'm thinking of arranging a meeting between you and Marlene and if possible with Ms. Rhea McKnight, your daughter. What do you think? "

"I don't know Albus. Give me some time to digest this. My status as fugitive makes things complicated and I can't even imagine what Marlene and Rhea would think about me once they meet me. "

"There is one way to know it Sirius, and that is to confront them, they may even accept you."

Sirius sighed as he realized there was no turning back from things happening with him. His conscience knew his destiny was offering him a second chance which he shouldn't be blowing off this time. But before taking any decision he needed to talk to Remus and if possible to Harry too, who fortunately as coming that evening.

Dumbledore stood up, as he finished with his job. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I've connected this fireplace with Megan's with a password. Please be here to catch them."

"Yes, I will Albus" replied Sirius eagerly, keeping in mind to say thank you once he met Harry and Megan.

"So if everything is fine I should be leaving; I have the task of finding Alastor Moody before meeting begins."

"Very well then, I should tell Molly that she should expect him too."

And with that both wizards left, thinking about various things they would be discussing tonight.

...

"And therefore she needs magical training in order to protect Harry as well herself if we are agree to give her Harry's custody" Dumbledore finished with his 'support Megan' speech and observed the few order members who were still scrutinizing Megan's case.

It was not easy for Megan to wait and witness a bunch of strangers deciding her and her nephew's future. But she also knew that Harry was still alive because of these strangers and if she wanted to prove her worthiness it was now or never. She didn't realize it but it was the same determination that made her visit England a few months ago and also made her to feel the thrill of her first fireplace journey just an hour ago. And that did not stop there rather it just began. The fireplace journey left her awestruck and before she realized how much distance she had crossed she was spitted out from another dusty fireplace surrounded by magical people including Dumbledore and of course a very dour looking Severus Snape.

Once she adjusted to the environment Dumbledore formally introduced her to every member present in the room. For Megan the experience was quite overwhelming but she managed in her own way to remember every name. It was funny how her imagination worked to evaluate every character; such as Remus Lupin, the shy but brilliant one; Minerva McGonagall - Harry's strict teacher; Molly and Arthur - the kind and friendly couple; Ron- Harry's awkward friend; the Twins- the troublemakers; Ginny - the bold one; Nymphadora Tonks - can't handle her balance but has very interesting magical skills; Kingsley Shacklebolt - the strong wizard and finally Alastor Moody the very intimidating wizard with a revolving artificial eye, and the last one - the unfriendly Severus Snape, based on firsthand experience. In spite of being surrounded by bizarre people Megan found herself fitting in perfectly well with them. Barring for their first suspicious stares she liked everyone; she liked being surrounded by magical people who cared for Harry. So when the time came she didn't hesitate to answer truthfully, she even openly suggested that they must allow her to adopt Harry legally. Her frankness and devotion impressed everyone especially Remus and Severus. Finally Dumbledore took the conversation in hand and explained to every one's surprise how he performed the Celtic ritual to trigger Megan's slumbering magic. But he intentionally omitted Severus's contribution which perfectly suited Severus but not Megan. She decided to discuss it with Dumbledore once they finished with the meeting.

...

"Harry, mate you look different, much taller than I saw you last. Even your scar, it looks faint" asked Ron the moment he descended the staircase leading into the Kitchen along with Harry, the twins and Ginny. They wanted to know everything happening at the meeting but the moment Dumbledore was done with Megan's introduction, Mrs. Weasley banished them all from the meeting saying they were either underage or in case of the twins, not ready to understand the order's business yet. They protested but Mrs. Weasley didn't budge and they ended up in the kitchen trying to fish out everything about Megan from Harry.

"Yeah, you look different. And your eyes, they look beautiful through your new glasses. And it makes you more handsome than before" complemented Ginny eyeing Harry for a minute.

"Umm, thanks" said Harry awkwardly. He consciously straightened his glasses which in reality he didn't need anymore. It was Snape who vehemently came up with a suggestion just before he left Megan's house. He charmed Harry's real glasses into fake ones so that Harry could wear them without any difficulty and keep his appearance in order to avoid the extra attention from the prying eyes of Draco Malfoy and others.

"Don't mind her Harry, she has lost her mind" quipped Ron.

"Hey, I'm here and don't talk like you know better. Anyway should I tell him that you bored me and others to death by talking about a certain girl?"

"Ginny, mind your own business " warned Ron, as a red blush crept over his features.

"Hey stop. We'll talk later about your crushes. Let's talk about Harry first, shall we?" Suggested Fred and it worked well as Ron asked the first question.

"Harry, is she really your aunt?"

"Yeah, she is," replied Harry looking around the vast area of the Kitchen. It seemed the kitchen was covering the entire basement. It was a cavernous room with a large fireplace at the far end. Iron pots and pans were hanging from the ceiling, and a long wooden table sat in the center. It was large enough to fit a couple of dozen people around it for a meal. It also had a pantry and a huge boiler for the entire house.

Everyone chose a chair to sit around the table and continued their interrogation.

"So, how is she? Any better than the Dursleys?" In spite of the fact that it was Fred who asked the question sounded serious enough to make George, Ron and Ginny stare at Harry with unease.

The question was simple and clear, it didn't leave any doubt in Harry's mind that every Weasley knew how miserable life was with the Dursleys. For a moment he thought of ignoring the question but then he saw the concern in those eyes and realized they were not only his friends but something akin to a family. Which meant they deserved to know everything about Megan, so he answered. "She is kind, smart and bold. I don't know my mother at all but I hope she had been like Megan." Harry paused little to compose many things that were whirling in his brain. "It took her little time to find me but when she did she didn't waste any time to get me out of Private Drive." A small smile appeared on Harry's face as he remembered things Megan did for him in the little time they had been together.

"What's that? Why are you smiling? "asked Ginny.

"It's nothing, just remembered how she tried her best to make me happy. We did some shopping, cooking, cleaning and gardening together. It was fun. And that was not the end; she bought me new clothes, shoes, glasses. She even gave me the best room in her house. It opens over the front garden and has a great view of the town that spans the entire northern horizon."

"Oh, that sounds fun" said George enthusiastically.

"That also means our little Harry finally got a break from those stinky Dursleys" added Fred.

"Yah, that's true. I really hated that place. I tried to get out of there many times but you know Dumbledore, for some reason he kept me there. Anyway, before this summer I have no choice."

"What about Mom and Dad, I know they never stopped pestering Dumbledore about taking you in. And what about Sirius, he is your Godfather after all" objected Ron. He was not yet ready to accept the fact that Harry was living with an unknown woman. "Harry what if she is fooling you; what if she is just an imposter, a Death eater like Crouch junior or bloody Snape."

"Ron, Snape is in the Order and Dumbledore trusts him and so do I" Harry tried to defend although he knew the existence of the Order of Phoenix and Snape being in it just few hours before.

"You are sounding like Hermione and when did you start taking Snape's side Harry" protested Ron.

Harry just ignored Ron and changed the topic. "Did you get any letters from Hermione?"

The question perfectly distracted everyone as the three remaining Weasley shifted their stare from Harry to Ron.

"Yeah, she is coming tomorrow" Ron stated calmly without giving any chance to Ginny or twins to start their merciless teasing.

"That's great" replied Harry. "Anyway how is Hedwig? I missed her. "

But before Ron answered George did. "She and Pig were quite busy for the last few days. Our little Ronnie was using them to send tons of love letters to a mysterious girl."

"What?" Harry asked surprisingly. The thought of Ron having a girlfriend was quite unbelievable.

"Harry, that's rubbish. Don't believe them" Ron tried to deny it but the look on Harry's face told him that he was not trying hard enough.

"Should we tell him who Ron's girlfriend is?" asked Fred with a wink.

Ron's face reddened with panic but Ginny saved him on time. "Oh, come on George, Don't spill the beans yet. Let him have some fun."

Both George and Fred looked at Ginny thoughtfully and then to Ron's relief wisely dropped the topic.

"So what were you doing since the holidays started?" asked Harry casually.

"You mean other than cleaning this house?" Ron asked tetchily.

"Really?" prompted Harry skeptically and ended with listening to a story in which Ron, Ginny and the heroically helped Mrs. Weasley and Sirius to clean the entire house.

Their gossips extended and finally they ended up in talking about the fight that Percy had with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for believing Dumbledore and Harry. Harry felt bad for being the cause of the fight. He felt guilty for causing a rift between members of a loving family. He was just thinking of apologizing when he heard footsteps and Ginny's forewarning.

"Guys, meeting is over. They are coming here."

Harry along with the others left the table and watched every order member descending the staircase and entering the kitchen. Dumbledore came first followed by Moody, Kingsley and then a very irritated looking Snape. Megan came with Mrs. Weasley, McGonagall and Tonks trailing by Remus, Sirius and Mr. Weasley.

"Harry my apologies, for keeping you here waiting. I was looking forward to have this dinner with you and Megan but something has come up and we need to go. So if you excuse us then we should be leaving." Dumbledore hurried towards the fireplace with a quick explanation just to get engulfed by green flames immediately followed by Snape, Kingsley and Moody.

"That was weird", whispered Ron behind Harry.

"Yeah" Harry just nodded thinking about Snape who did not even glance towards him before leaving.

Once they were gone Mrs. Weasley took charge of the room. Remus and Sirius helped her arrange the food she cooked earlier. And to her dismay the Twins did not miss the chance of showing their new found magical freedom by arranging the plates and other cutlery on the table.

"Harry, come on join us" called Sirius offering a seat in between him and Remus.

Harry complied and joined Sirius and Remus who was looking even more frail and tired than Harry had ever seen him before.

"Hello Professor" greeted Harry.

"Hello, Harry and please call me Remus. I'm not your professor anymore" replied Remus with a smile.

Meanwhile Ron took a seat between Twins and Mr. Weasley. "Wow, it looks delicious" he proclaimed the moment he saw the variety of the food on the table. The twins rolled their eyes in response and filled their plates with roast chicken.

Harry liked the smell of roast and gravy. He added some peas and carrots to his plate and began eating. From his seat he looked around and found everyone enjoying their dinner chatting pleasantly. Two chairs down from him he found Ron, Ginny and Twins bantering with Mr. Weasley about something. While on the opposite end of table he found Megan chatting happily with Tonks, Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall, who to Harry's utter surprise was laughing freely.

Sirius caught Harry looking at Megan and remembered something he was thinking the whole afternoon. "Harry, once you are finished with dinner, can you come with Megan to meet us in the library?"

Harry looked up and nodded. "Yeah sure, but who are we?"

"Oh, it's just me and Remus" Sirius explained chewing on his chicken wing.

"Okay" said Harry but soon his attention was caught by Tonks who was explaining her Metamorphagus abilities to Megan with a bit of demonstration.

"It seems your aunt is enthusiastic about learning magic" said Remus observing Megan.

"Yeah, she is. I think she likes being a witch. She reminded me of Hermione. But I hope she won't ask all these questions to her future tutors."

"I rather hope she gives old Minerva and Remus a hard time. I don't mind teaching her few of my own pranks too. Who knows Fred and George also might learn something from that."

"No, you are not doing anything of that sort. Dumbledore exclusively told you to help her with Charms and Ancient Runes, not some prank course" Remus tried to worn Sirius.

"Wow, so you two and McGonagall will be teaching her" asked Harry cheerfully.

"Not only us, but Dumbledore himself along with Molly, Tonks and even Snape" informed Remus.

Sirius huffed the moment he heard Snape's name but Harry and Remus ignored him and continued with their talk.

"That's great and I'm sure she is going to enjoy this. I've seen her fondly twirling mum's wand and trying to illuminate it a few times already."

"Lily's wand?" asked Sirius with astonishment.

"Yeah, Dumbledore gave it to her and its working fine" provided Harry.

"Clever thinking" praised Remus and then added "Harry can you tell me about this Celtic ritual in detail. Not tonight but maybe tomorrow after lunch."

"Yeah, sure" Harry paused for a moment and then added, "Remus, I was wondering it would be okay if I discuss some defense spells with you."

"Any time Harry but what kind of defense spells?"

"Umm, nothing serious just a few shields and other stuff that I'm working on as my summer project."

"Wow, that's very thoughtful of you Harry. Keep going and if you need something else just ask me." Sirius volunteered with a pride he was feeling for his godson who not only had saved his life in the past but now unknowingly had found some profound anchors for his drifting life.

With a satisfied smile, surrounded by love and care Harry accepted the support and busied himself thinking about his summer project without noticing Megan glancing at him with her own kind content.

...

 **A.N.: Hello everyone. I'm really sorry for this ridiculously long delay. Now read and enjoy this chapter. But don't forget to review.**


	11. Turning Wheels

**Disclaimer** **: Exactly similar to one written at beginning of last ten chapters.**

 **######**

 **CHAPTER 11**

 **TURNING WHEELS**

It was bright but much tolerable than yesterday. Whatever happened that day not only blinded him but ruined the progress he made in the last few weeks. But now he had started to feel his surroundings which was enough for him to consider that he would recover in no time. And once that happened he would be there to take care of this feeble mind. Soon he would begin to use this pathetic mind to get what he wanted. And then very slowly and painfully he will destroy the mind and his owner forever.

Voldemort smirked as he used his deadly skills of legilimency one more time to penetrate the white shimmer surrounding Harry's mind. As time passed he increased his efforts and waited. But soon his smirk turned into an angry frown. The shield remained intact; protecting Harry's precious mind from the dark shadow hovering around and leaving a frustrated Voldemort with a throbbing headache.

 **######**

Harry slowed down chewing on his toast as he felt a pressure building under his skull. But suddenly it vanished and he resumed eating.

"Harry, are you alright" asked Megan worriedly.

Mrs. Weasley also stopped drinking her tea and looked at Harry.

"I'm fine" answered Harry pretending nothing weird had happened. It also surprised him that how Megan knew about his weird headache when he wasn't exactly showing the sign. With another bite he finished his breakfast and looked at Ron who was already done with his breakfast. "Umm Ron, where is Fred and George? I wanted to see them."

"Oh, then you just missed them. They left with dad for their Apparition Test."

"If you ask me they don't even need that stupid test. They had mastered apparition ages ago. And I think they have gone there just to show off. They don't need those licenses" said Ginny getting Megan's attention.

"Apparition License! Is it something like getting a Driver's license?"

"Yes something like that. Here in the magical world when you turn seventeen you become an adult and get a few rights like using magic outside school and a license to apparate anywhere; but to get that license you need to pass a test conducted by the Department of Magical Transportation, one of the divisions at the Ministry of Magic" answered Mrs. Weasley. With a second thought she also added. "If you asked me it's a dangerous way of transport. If you lose your focus while doing it there is chance that you leave a limb or any part of your body behind."

"It is called splinching" provided Ginny playing with food in her plate.

"I know Ginny. Now finish your breakfast and help me clean here" ordered Mrs. Weasley.

"Okay mum" agreed Ginny finishing her toast.

When everyone finished eating Megan helped Ginny and Mrs. Weasley with the cleaning. She liked working with them and felt grateful for their efforts in helping her.

"Molly, I really want to say thank you."

Mrs. Weasley looked up drying her palms on a napkin. "What for dear?"

"For accepting and trying to teach me those exciting spells and also giving me a chance to be a part of your family."

"Megan, don't be ridiculous. Lily and James were like my family and that makes you my family too. And trust me I'm having fun teaching you. I must say you are quite a natural at it."

"No, that's not true. You have seen me struggling with that cutting charm. I hope one day I'll use my wand as efficiently as you."

"Now now, you are underestimating yourself. I'm sure a little practice will make you as good as I am. Oh and you will be learning a lot from Remus and Sirius. Not exactly something that's used in the kitchen but something much more exciting and challenging too."

"Oh that reminds me, Remus told me to join him in study. Today he and Sirius will be explaining some basics to me."

"That's great…"

But before she said something else the doorbell rang loudly followed by an ear splitting screech.

"Bloody hell! Not again" Ron sweared inserting his fingers in both ears.

Mrs. Weasley left the kitchen as hurriedly as possible followed by Megan, Harry, Ron and Ginny.

"MUDBLOODS. TRAITORS. FILTH. POLLUTING MY HOUSE. KREACHER.. KREACHER.. YOU OLD TROT. WHERE ARE YOU? REMOVE THIS FILTH FROM MY HOUSE."

The entire house boomed with the nasty threats followed by a loud crack stopping Megan and Harry in their tracks. They got surprised to know the source of all that noise. It was an old hideous painting of an angry woman and in front of it stood a similarly old looking house elf.

A second passed and Harry saw Remus and Sirius descending from the first floor and running towards the painting.

"KREACHER, STAY AWAY FROM THAT HAG" ordered Sirius in equally loud voice. He along with Remus struggled with the curtains hanging in front of the painting.

"FILTHY. HALF BREEDS" the painting shrieked for the last time before Sirius successfully covered it with curtains.

Meanwhile Mrs. Weasley had opened the door and took inside the visitors with a huff.

"Sorry, it is my dead mother. I forgot to warn you about her" Sirius apologized to Harry and Megan. "Oh and that thing that just disappeared was her loyal elf, Kreacher. Harry stay away from him."

Harry listened to Sirius's warning but soon got distracted by another much humanly and familiar squeal.

"HARRY" Hermione ran and hugged Harry tightly. "I missed you."

"Me too, Hermione" replied Harry trying to keep Hermione's curly hairs from getting in his mouth.

With a smile she freed Harry and turned to Ron. She gave him a quick hug and began telling her first experience of sidelong apparition.

"Tonks was right. It was horrible."

"So it was Tonks who rang the bell then" asked Mrs. Weasley with annoyance.

"Yes, she did it. I invited her inside but she told me she will be late for her work. Anyway, who was screaming?"

"It was Mrs. Black in the painting. She wakes up whenever someone rings that bell or makes a loud noise. It's horrible to hear her shriek." Informed Mrs. Weasley pointing towards the curtain covered painting.

Harry caught Megan staring at Hermione keenly and realized he didn't introduce her.

"Hermione, here meet my aunt Dr. Megan Spencer."

"What?.. Your aunt? But…" Hermione asked unbelievingly.

"Yes, you heard me correct" Harry replied with a smile and addressed Megan. "Megan, this is Hermione Granger."

"Hello, dear. I've heard lot about you" said Megan casually.

Hermione quickly extended her arm and greeted Megan. "Nice to meet you Dr. Spencer?"

"Hermione please call me Megan" requested Megan politely.

"Okay" nodded Hermione and looked at Harry with an expression that meant he knew she had a lot of queries.

"Hermione dear, go with Ginny to put away your trunk and come to the kitchen if you are hungry"

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley but I had my breakfast. I'll see you later" said Hermione picking up her trunk hurriedly. Ginny helped her with Crookshanks's cage and headed upstairs towards her room. To the others' surprise Harry and Ron followed the girls without uttering a word.

Sirius smiled as he watched Harry leaving with his friend. It reminded him of his own Hogwarts days. A moment passed and he heard Remus calling his name. "Sirius, come on. It's time we begin teaching Megan something useful." He looked at Molly and asked, "Molly would you like to join us."

"No, you go ahead. I still have some work left in the kitchen."

And with that Mrs. Weasley left for the kitchen, while Megan went to study with Remus and Sirius.

 **######**

"Harry you never told me you have another aunt. Anyway who is she? And… you look different? Where are your old glasses?" Hermione fired her questions the moment she entered Ginny's room.

"Hermione! Slow down. Take a seat and get ready to here a long story. But before that stop examining me like a Potion ingredient."

"Sorry Harry but I can't help it. You really look different. Much taller and healthier than before plus your scar, it looks faded" continued Hermione sitting on the bed.

Ron and Ginny also took a seat on the twin bed and got ready to hear the story that they had already heard.

For the next hour Harry explained everything about Megan. He even told her about the Celtic ritual used by Dumbledore to activate Megan's magic and it astonished Hermione to no end. When Harry finished with his tale Hermione remained silent to grasp the information she just heard.

"So the fact that you are looking much healthier than before is because of it is a side effect of this ritual?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"So what next Harry, I mean are you going to live with Megan?"

"From what I gathered from Megan, Dumbledore wants me to live with her for this entire summer first. And if everything goes smoothly then there will be a chance that he will transfer my custody to Megan."

"That's sounds like a great plan to me" said Ron talking for the first time.

"But what about Sirius? Would he be comfortable with this decision? I mean he is your Godfather and definitely cares for you."

"You are correct Hermione. But this time he is okay with Dumbledore's decision" said Harry "actually there is something else that I want to share with you."

"Go ahead Harry, we are all listening" said Ginny prompting Harry to talk.

"Actually I should not be telling you this but I think Sirius won't mind so listen. There is a girl in our Hogwarts named Rhea McKnight."

"Hey, are you talking about Luna's dorm mate?" asked Ginny with confusion.

"Yes, the same one in your year" replied Harry. He looked at the remaining two and continued, "I think you have seen this girl sometimes. If I'm correct then she was a reserved beater for Ravenclaw's team."

"Yeah, now I remembered her. I've seen her few times with Ginny and think she is much better than Luna" commented Ron with a teasing smile and earned a glare from Ginny.

"The girl with black hair and grey eyes?" asked Hermione tentatively.

"Yes, her. She is pretty and always asks me about twins. I'm think she has a crush on Fred and somehow always figured out who is Fred and who is George" confirmed Ginny.

"Sounds intelligent to me" Hermione seemed impressed by Rhea.

"Off course and that's why she in Ravenclow" quipped Harry and continued his tale. "So as I mentioned earlier, Megan has a house near London which she bought recently through a real estate agent named Lena McKnight. A few days ago Megan took me to this fancy restaurant for a business lunch with her estate agent who turned out to be Rhea's mother. To my surprise Rhea was there too. We recognized each other and talked for an hour. During this time she told me how her mother lost her memory just before her birth and lost her own as well as identity of Rhea's father."

"Oh, poor Rhea, that's why she never talks about her family" said Ginny thinking about Rhea.

"Yeah may be, but now I think I know who her father is and also knew her mother's real name."

"Really? But how?" asked Ron curiously.

"Yesterday, before I came here Dumbledore visited us at Megan's. For some reason he asked us many question about this meeting with Rhea and her mother. He didn't clearly say why he was asking those questions but last night after dinner it became much clearer when Sirius told me to meet him and Remus in the study. He also asked me to bring Megan along. So we visited. The moment Sirius saw us he thanked me and Megan profusely. When I asked why he was thanking he informed us that because it was I and Megan that helped Dumbledore to find Sirius's lost girlfriend named Marlene McKinnon, now known by name of Lena McKnight, Rhea's mother. In other words Sirius is Rhea's father."

"Wow! That… that sounds interesting and I think it's good for Sirius. Do you think Sirius wants to meet them?" asked Hermione.

"Of course, he wants to. But there is one big problem. Sirius fears that Marlene and Rhea would reject him because of his criminal status. And to worsen things Marlene I mean Lena doesn't remember old Sirius. She only knew him from those terrifying news about him in the papers."

"Oh, that's awful and makes everything complicated."

"Actually I was thinking of something."

Hermione narrowed her eyes as she saw that peculiar resolve on Harry's face. And from her past experiences she knew what exactly it meant. "Like what Harry?" Hermione asked cautiously. She had an inkling about where Harry was going.

"I want to help him by catching Pettigrew and hand him over directly to the Aurors. Once that happens everyone will know Sirius is innocent. May be it will help him to get his family back."

"It makes sense Harry but how are you going to find that rat."

"Don't encourage him Ron. It sounds dangerous to me. And as you said Pettigrew is a rat, an unregistered animagus. Who knows he may be living in a sewer or might have fled the country."

"I agree with Hermione. She is right Harry, you don't know where exactly to search for him. He may be anywhere" said Ginny pondering over what Hermione had said.

"Umm, I have a plan but I'm not sure how effective it is."

"Okay, go on mate" said Ron ignoring Hermione glaring at him.

"Unlike many other times, this time I was thinking of asking for help."

"Oh that's very thoughtful of you Harry" Hermione praised "And who is it?"

"Umm… it's Snape!"

"SNAPE!" Ron exclaimed loudly. "Harry have you lost your mind? How on earth do you think that bloody Snape would like to help you? Haven't you noticed that he hates you and every other Gryffindor?"

Harry was expecting the outburst but also knew if he wanted to help Sirius then he needed to persuade his friends first. "May be except for one or two" replied Harry coolly.

"And who are they?" asked Ginny curiously.

"One is Dumbledore and another was my Mom."

"Your Mother, but how?" asked Hermione trying to understand what Harry was saying.

"They were childhood friends and I had this weird feeling that Snape's liking towards my mother was more than friendship."

"Now that's ridiculous. I don't know where you got this information but it is absurd Harry. Do you think anyone can ever think about hanging around that bat of dungeons?"

"Shut up Ron. He is our Professor and its Harry's mother we are talking about."

Ron stared at Hermione for a moment and then suddenly apologized "Okay, I'm sorry mate but Snape is still a bat."

"Ron I kind of agree with you on that bat thing but just try and listen to what I'm saying."

"Fine, I'm listening" said Ron gruffly.

"Ron, do you remember the last task of the Tri-wizard tournament, when Fudge tried to deny accepting Voldemort's return" Every one flinched at mention of Voldemort's name. "and had a fight with Dumbledore and all."

"Yes, I remembered that, you were in the hospital wing and McGonagall was roaring on that foolish Fudge for releasing Dementors on Barty Crouch Junior."

"So except Ginny everyone also had noticed that Snape showed his dark mark to Fudge and tried to convince him."

"Yes, we saw it. It was a bold move" said Hermione remembering the resolute expression she saw on Snape's face that night.

"Wait, the Dark mark? You mean the one that Voldemort used to brand his Death Eaters?" asked Ginny dreadfully "So, Snape is a Death Eater?"

"Yes, he is but I think not like Malfoy, Nott or Crouch Junior. Ginny, it is my guess, but I think he is working as a spy for Dumbledore. And if that's true then he is risking his life for us."

"Harry, that makes sense. But how is that going to help us?" asked Ron trying to think.

"Ron, it was Pettigrew who was helping Voldemort all this time. He was there with him in the graveyard during his resurrection. Rather he was the one who killed Cedric by using Voldemort's wand."

"Oh, Harry" said Hermione sadly. If she remembered correctly then it was the first time Harry had mentioned Cedric's name without breaking down.

"So what you are saying is Pettigrew has to be living with You-Know-Who" tried Ron.

"Yes exactly that. And if Snape is really working as a spy then he must have seen Pettigrew somewhere around Voldemort. So if we get Snape's help then there could be a chance of catching Pettigrew."

"But Harry, how are you going to ask Snape? I mean you are not exactly on friendly terms with him?" reasoned Ginny.

"Yeah, I know it's a difficult task Ginny but don't worry I'll figure something out."

"Harry, just promise me that you would not do anything alone and keep us in the loop."

"Sure, Hermione" said Harry with a teasing smile.

Hermione huffed but then smiled and let the topic end. Then they all talked about their pending homework in Hermione's case the completed work. Meanwhile Ginny freed Crookshanks from his cage and let him wander around.

As time passed their discussion became more serious. They talked about Fudge's passive attitude towards Voldemort's resurrection. Harry told them how Fudge and other ministry wizards voted Dumbledore out from International Confederation of Wizards, and also demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot only because he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. Which Ginny confirmed by telling them she heard her father talking about Ministry trying to find a solution to control Dumbledore and Harry. The news alarmed Hermione. Her panic was so evident that Ron was going to give her a calming draught from his mother's emergency box. Luckily that sort of measure was not needed as at that moment they heard two loud cracks announcing Fred and George arrival. A minute later they all went downstairs and heard news about the twins passing their Apparition Test with flying colors.

Harry congratulated Fred and George for their success. He even took part in the celebration by drinking a butter beer offered by Fred. But then a few minutes later he made an excuse and went to his room to think of a proper way to approach Snape.

 **######**

When Megan finally left the study for lunch she felt exhausted. It didn't mean she did not like the lesson; in fact she enjoyed every bit of it. Because like Harry had told her Remus turned out a very good and patient teacher while Sirius was fun to work with. Remus began the lesson and told her a little about how magic works. He briefly introduced various branches of magic to her. And when it came to Defense against the Dark Arts, he didn't start directly teaching her curses or jinxes. Instead he first told her why it was necessary to learn it. Then he told her about concentration, motivation and correct vocalization- the three vital requirements to perform any magical act. He taught her how to focus and manipulate her magic by using a suitable wand. He also taught her the basic wand movements generally used for casting various spells. And then he showed her few jinxes and curses. After that Sirius gave his output on the basics of Charms. He chose levitation and locomotion charms to introduce her to the subject. Once they both showed her demonstrations they made her perform and repeat every incantation until she got all of them correct. Finally they ended the lesson by giving her list of few books.

"Megan, how was it?" asked Mrs. Weasley the moment Megan entered the kitchen.

"Oh, it was fantastic and I think I got a great deal of information about magic. Here let me show you, what I learnt" said Megan cheerfully pointing her wand at empty bowl on opposite side of table.

" _Wingardium Leviosa._ " Megan incanted - swishing and thrusting her wand through mid air. At first nothing happened but then suddenly the bowl jerked and began floating above the dining table. Concentrating Megan moved her wand to her right. The bowl followed her motion and remained there until she lost her focus.

"Wow, that was excellent Megan" cheered Ginny who came there with Ron and Hermione.

"Was it your first attempt?" asked Hermione curiously.

"No it wasn't. Sirius and Remus made me practice it many times but I think I'm losing my focus."

"Hey, don't worry you will get the hang of it. Just give it some time" suggested Ginny trying to lighten Megan's mood.

"Yeah I hope so" replied Megan looking around for Harry. "Anyway where is Harry? Won't he be coming for lunch?"

"Umm… An hour ago he was here with us but then he went to his room" informed Ron a bit nervously.

"Okay, I'll fetch him" said Megan and left kitchen before anyone stopped her.

She climbed few stairs and stood in front of Harry's room. The door was locked, so she knocked and waited until Harry opened it. It opened and Megan took a look around. To her liking the room was big, clean and had a big window looking over the back garden.

"Oh, Megan I thought it was Ron" said Harry catching Megan's attention.

"Aren't you hungry Harry?" asked Megan looking at the parchments spread over table. "I can see you are busy but skipping lunch is not a good idea."

Harry did not say anything instead he just stared at Megan thoughtfully. Then suddenly an idea popped in his head.

"What is it Harry?" she asked observing the sudden change in Harry's expression.

"Megan I need your help with something" said Harry thinking about she didn't have any prejudice about Snape.

She didn't reply right away instead she took a seat on the chair and stared inquisitively at Harry. Somewhere inside she felt happy that Harry was asking for her help. And she didn't want to blow up that chance by saying no. "Go on. I'm listening."

"I want you to ask Snape for a meeting, tell him that you want to see him." Harry said it in a single breath.

Megan took a minute to understand what Harry was asking to her. The request was odd but Megan didn't mind. Rather it was a good excuse as she wanted to meet Snape anyway. "Okay. I'll ask him."

Harry inhaled a breath of relief.

"But before I do it you have to tell me why you want me to do it" demanded Megan holding an eye contact with Harry.

"Sure, I will Megan" said Harry with smile. For a background he told her everything he knew about Sirius. "And then you heard him last night. He looked pretty desperate to meet Rhea and her mother. I think he really deserves this chance Megan."

Megan heard the pleading and felt the pain too. "Harry, you know you have a really good heart, in way its good but don't you think you are only fourteen. It's not the age of making such kind of decisions. And why don't you ask Dumbledore or Remus for help? They look pretty capable of doing anything."

"I know I'm not adult here Megan but I don't have any other choices. I don't want to bother Dumbledore. He is busy in dealing with Fudge and his dirty politics. And about Remus, I'll prefer he should remain here with Sirius instead of coming with me on some kind of blind hunt. And anyway Sirius is my Godfather, so it's my duty to help him, isn't it?"

"Okay, reasonable enough but there is still one question remains. Why you need help from Severus?"

"Because, I guess Snape is the only person who knows Pettigrew's whereabouts." And then he explained to Megan what he discussed with his friend this morning.

Megan listened to Harry with great interest until she heard the word Death Eater. "Harry wait, you mean he is a Death Eater? Who helped that lunatic in destroying our family and countless other lives?"

Harry became silent when he heard the question. He knew it was not his story to tell and in reality he only knew bits of it. But right now he needed those bits to convince Megan and if possible his own self when too as he himself was having an internal struggle to accept Snape's faithfulness to Dumbledore. So he tried his best shot. "No Megan, he is different. I mean Dumbledore trusts him and had once said that Snape had turned spy against Voldemort, at a great personal risk. And if Snape really wanted to harm us then he had plenty of chances when he was staying in your house for a week."

Megan sighed as she heard Harry trying to clear her doubts. It was not his fault but he kind of sounded unsure. But then again she had few of her own experiences and knew better than to be judgmental. She also believed that no one was exclusively light or dark, everyone has a grey area. The best example she knew was her own mother, who gave her to a totally strange couple just to unburden her own mistake. But everyone remembered her as a kind hearted woman. So who was she to judge Snape? And she like Harry respected Dumbledore's decisions. Thus in essence it would be hypocritical to judge Snape.

"Well, that's enough for me. I'm ready to do it. But there is still one problem Harry."

"And what's that Megan" asked Harry trying to think what he missed.

"I don't have his number to call."

"Oh but that's not a problem. Just write a letter. Hedwig knows where to find him" said Harry with a smile.

Megan just nodded in response. She had few more questions but decided it would be better if she asked them after lunch.

 **######**

"Are you sure it will be a good idea Albus? I mean I'm happy that you suggested my name for Deputy Headmistress but do you really think the board will take that decision any time soon" said McGonagall "when it consists of Malfoy and others who are pampering Fudge for their own advantage. We all heard Fudge threatening you for taking decisions here in Hogwarts. I'm concerned Albus."

"Minerva dear, there is no need to worry about me because we know Fudge and Malfoy very well. As Arthur said they are trying to find loopholes in many laws just to discredit me and stop telling people that Voldemort has returned. But that is not my concern Minerva; I'm concerned about the safety of Hogwarts students. I have a feeling that if we failed to find our next Defense Professor, Fudge will come with some unsuitable options."

Dumbledore's words caught Severus's attention who was sitting in Dumbledore's house wondering why Dumbledore had invited him and McGonagall to his home instead of Hogwarts just to discuss next year's plan. Severus was never been there before, but from the sound of waves he knew they were somewhere near ocean. He also figured out from his apparition time that the mysterious house was only few hours away from London safely hidden under layers of wards created by Dumbledore himself.

"Severus, do you have something to say" asked Dumbledore noticing Severus's interest.

"Well, I agree with you on one thing that Fudge is an idiot and we should find a decent defense teacher very soon" answered Severus.

"What about Kendra Brice or maybe that fellow Edward Ainsworth" suggested McGonagall and with a after though added "or maybe you should give it to Severus and find someone else to teach Potions"

McGonagall's statement left Severus wondering that she might have gone bonkers in her old age. "Minerva I'm grateful for your vote of confidence in my ability to teach defense. If you still remember the post is cursed and the Board will have a fit if they knew that an ex Death Eater is teaching their children the Defense Against the Dark Art. I think for now I enjoy my Potions and also taking points from your horrendous Gryffindors."

"Oh shut up Severus, they are not that bad, they just terrified of your dark persons."

"Minerva" Dumbledore interrupted, "Severus has a point. I know he will be a suitable choice for Defense but it would be difficult to convince the board members. Maybe Malfoy and a few would agree but the rest of the board wouldn't."

"Hmm, of course I forgot Albus'' said McGonagall trying to hide her disappointment. In the last few years she had come to know Severus quite well. In his school days she knew him for two things, one was aloofness and the other was his quick learning abilities in every subject. She even approved of his friendship with Lily and had hoped their friendship would flourish further but then they fought and Severus got lost into darkness. After a few years suddenly out of blue he returned, laden with some kind of burden guarded by his agonizing silence. And then she saw him on the day when Harry defeated Voldemort for first time… the same day when he lost Lily forever. She never told him but that day unknown to him she saw him break down into a thousand pieces and realized somewhere under his stoic masquerade he still had a heart. As time passed she learned to tolerate and sometimes even enjoy his acerbic company with sarcastic remarks. But that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy watching his Slytherins getting kicked by her Gryffindors on the Quidditch field.

"I'm also thinking of appointing Wilhelmina Grubbly - Plank for Care of Magical Creatures until Hagrid returns from his job. What do you think?"

"Well, at least she knows what should be considered as dangerous" replied Severus.

"Severus, it's your Slytherins who cause most of the troubles in his class."

"Correct, and all Gryffindors are saints!" commented Severus.

"I take it you agree with my decision" said Dumbledore smiling gently.

"Albus, if we are done with our meeting then I would like to leave."

"Sure, Severus" said Dumbledore looking towards the starry sky through his office window. "Rather we all should retire now, it's late."

It was then that something swooped inside through an open window. It was a white owl.

"It's Hedwig, Potter's Owl!" exclaimed McGonagall looking at the beautiful snowy owl circling above their heads.

"And why she is here?" asked Severus irritatingly.

"Of course delivering a letter, her usual job" quipped McGonagall noticing a scroll tied to Hedwig's leg.

To McGonagall's surprise and Severus's annoyance Hedwig landed in front of him. Severus tried to ignore her but she hopped forward and bit on his fingers.

"Bloody Owl!" said Severus freeing the scroll from Hedwig's leg. The next minute she hooted and fled away through same window she came inside.

"Is that from Harry?" asked Dumbledore eying Severus through his half moon glasses.

With a grunt Severus opened the scroll. It was a short message written by someone having better handwriting than Harry.

Dear Severus

If you don't mind, I would like to meet you tomorrow for lunch at my place. It's important that we have this meeting before we start with my potion lessons.

Regards

Megan

P.S. Harry also wants to have word with you.

Severus stared at letter for a moment and then put it into his robe pocket realizing both McGonagall and Dumbledore were still staring at him.

"Severus?" McGonagall called hinting that she was waiting to know.

Severus decided to answer but before he did he threw a glare at Dumbledore. "It's from Megan. She and Potter want to see me tomorrow for lunch."

McGonagall seemed stunned by the revelation. She never thought a day would come when Harry would like to meet Severus Snape. She also praised Megan's bravery to write such letter to Severus. But then she looked at Dumbledore's smiling face and realized they were hiding something from her.

"That is pretty unusual, isn't it Albus?"

Dumbledore saw the tetchy look on his old colleague's face and decided it would be safe she knew the truth.

"Minerva, last night at the Order's meeting I didn't share the whole information about the Celtic ritual. It was Severus who brewed the healing Elixir for Megan."

"Albus, you agreed about not telling this to anyone" warned Severus but Dumbledore ignored him.

"Minerva, I didn't explain exactly but it was blood magic. Harry, Severus and Megan gave their blood to brew this elixir and during that period Severus lived with them. You see that peculiar arrangement enhanced the elixir's efficiency."

"Oh and, that's made Megan brave enough to write this letter then" teased McGonagall with amusement "Severus, if possible wear your muggle suite and try to be nice with them."

"Minerva, keep your insufferable advice to yourself. It's just a meeting not a date" said Severus getting up from his chair and reached the fireplace in two long strides. With a defiant expression he entered inside and threw a pinch of floo powder. "Twenty four, Spinner's End" he said clearly and then vanished through Green flames

"Albus, do you think it is even possible?" McGonagall asked hopefully.

"Minerva I hope for the best for Severus but I fear it will generate new complications."

"Albus he deserves to be happy for once in his life" pleaded McGonagall.

"And no one realizes it better than me, not even Severus himself" replied Dumbledore guiltily trying not to think about the dark night when Severus promised anything in return for keeping his Lily safe.

 **A.N. : Keep reading and reviewing.**


	12. The Elf

**Disclaimer** **: Exactly similar to one that I've written at the beginning of last eleven chapters.**

 **CHAPTER 12**

 **THE ELF**

"Hermione, you look mad. What happened?" asked Ron to a fuming Hermione who entered kitchen along with Ginny.

"Yeah, what happened?" asked Harry cautiously, gulping down the scrambled eggs Mrs. Weasley had made for their breakfast.

"Sirius happened" Ginny answered taking a seat next to Ron. She filled her own plate with eggs.

"What do you mean?" The name caught Harry's interest.

"Sirius, like every day, yelled at his house elf for stealing things from the junk we spent time collecting."

"Oh, that bloody Kreacher! Hermione you know nothing about it. He is ugly and creepy and doesn't like to do anything other than calling out insults. I think he deserved it" said Ron casually which was a mistake.

"He is an elf Ron and he has rights!" glared Hermione "And for Merlin's sake you are a member of S.P.E.W."

"But Hermione that Elf is a nut. He takes orders from that painting. You weren't there when we cleaned this house. The bloody elf didn't pick a twig. Instead he sneaked around and stole rubbish so he could store it in his dirty nest. He is insane."

"Ron, he is old and you shouldn't treat him the way Sirius does" rebuked Hermione angrily.

"Hermione, please calm down. Have some breakfast and then we'll visit his nest so you can explain to him about SPEW." Harry tried to placate Hermione. He hurriedly filled a plate with scrambled eggs and gave it to Hermione. She accepted it peevishly and sat down to finish it.

"Ron, where are the others? I haven't seen Mum and Fred & George?" Ginny tried to change the subject.

"Mum took Megan to the Burrow for her next lesson and Fred & George left early in the morning claiming that they had some business in London."

"London? That's interesting!" commented Ginny thinking about the many experiments they were trying to do in their bedroom for last few weeks.

"Ginny, do you know what they are up to?" asked Harry finishing his breakfast.

"I guess they needed some stuff for their experiments" answered Ginny.

"You mean the pranks?" asked Ron.

But before Ginny answered Hermione got up from his seat and ordered "Harry, I'm finished, let's go. I need to inform Kreacher of his rights."

"Okay, let's go" said Harry vacating his chair and nudging Ron on his way. Ron protested at first but then followed with disgusted expression.

"Hey, wait for me, I'm coming too" said Ginny running after her brother and friends.

Within a minute they crossed the kitchen and reached the far side of the basement where it opened into the Boiler room. Harry entered first. It was a dusty room with a huge boiler on one side and a wooden shelf on the opposite side filled with various things that Ron and Ginny remembered throwing away while cleaning.

"There, behind that boiler. I think he is in there" said Hermione pointing towards a dark alcove hidden behind a boiler.

"Hermione be careful" cautioned Harry following her towards the nest.

Hermione circled the boiler and stood in front of the alcove; she carefully bent forward but to her disappointment it was empty. It only had a few dirty rags gathered around an old pillow.

"Harry, there's nothing here. The alcove's empty. Let's go" she informed Harry who was trying to see things from behind her.

"Okay" Harry turned back giving Hermione space to leave.

When she turned to leave something glittered below those rags. Curiously she bent over and stretched her hand to remove the rags that partially covered the thing. With some difficulty she removed the rags and got hold of something like a stone. But when she picked it up she realized it wasn't a shiny stone. With heightened curiosity Hermione held it against the light. To her surprise it was a locket with a glittering green stone with the letter 'S' engraved on it. The locket was held by heavy gold chains.

"Hey, look what I found!" Hermione exclaimed, holding the locket out to her friends.

"Oh, I've seen it. George found it along with some other ugly jewelry" said Ron taking the locket from Hermione. He turned around to show it to Harry but Harry wasn't behind him; instead he was standing away from them rubbing his scar with a terrified expression on his face.

Harry didn't know what exactly happened but the moment Hermione showed the locket his scar began to prickle and a weird burning sensation started to swell under his skull. Next minute it intensified and his scar burst with sharp pain. "RON, THE LOCKET BELONGS TO VOLDEMORT. THROW IT AWAY!"

Shocked, Ron flung the locket in a corner and ran towards Harry. "Harry, are you alright?" The look on Harry's face alarmed Ron. "Ginny go fetch Sirius or Remus". Ginny obeyed and ran up the stairs.

"Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't know" said Hermione almost on the verge of tears.

"It's okay Hermione. I'm fine" replied Harry as the pain started to diminish.

A minute passed and they heard running footsteps coming towards them. It was Ginny along with Remus and Sirius.

"Harry!" called Remus and Sirius at the same time with worry etched on their faces.

"Harry, are you alright. Ginny said your scar burned" asked Sirius holding Harry close to him. He didn't like the look of fear on Harry's face. The scar which looked perfectly healed last night now looked swollen and it worried Sirius.

"I'm fine Sirius, the pain's gone now." Harry tried to behave normal but the alarmed look on Sirius as well as Remus's face didn't fade. Instead they both fetched their wands and looked around trying to understand what triggered Harry's scar to react this severely.

"No, you are not. Your scar looked inflamed, let's get out of here" said Sirius almost dragging Harry with him.

"Sirius, wait. There is this locket and we need to show it to Dumbledore immediately."

"What locket Harry?" asked Remus observing Harry carefully.

"Hermione found it in Kreacher's nest. It's there in that corner, Ron tossed it away."

Remus with wand ready in his hand went to the corner where Harry had pointed and saw the locket lying in the dust.

"Remus careful!" warned Sirius pointing his own wand in order to cover Harry and others if something bad happens.

Remus observed the locket for moment and tried to summon it. A cloud of dust whirled around the locket but it didn't move. On looking closely Remus saw that the locket had a snake like "S" carved on to it. He didn't remember where he had seen it before but something about the locket looked familiar. Before making a move, he glanced back towards Hermione and Ron to ensure they were still alright after handling the mysterious locket. They looked alright so he stepped ahead and lifted the locket with his wand tip.

"Hermione, pass me that jewelry box from that shelf behind you"

Hermione complied quickly. She found the box just behind her. She opened it and removed all its contents, and then handed the empty box to Remus.

Carefully Remus put the locket inside the box and closed its lid. "Harry, how is it now?"

"Much better, Remus. Now can you please call Dumbledore" Harry reminded.

"Sure, but not here" Sirius insisted.

"Fine" Harry nodded and went to the kitchen along with everyone else. Remus put the box on the table and waved his wand muttering something under his breath. A bright wolf appeared, hovered in front of Remus and then vanished.

Everyone remained silent until they heard the fireplace flare up emitting a very concerned Dumbledore.

"Remus, is Harry alright?"

"Yes, he is" said Sirius still standing behind Harry.

"Harry, my boy. What happened?" asked Dumbledore observing Harry carefully. His eyes lingered on Harry's scar for a moment before he asked, "Did you sense him Harry?"

"Not, exactly. This time I felt different. The moment I saw that Locket my scar began burning and I felt like I was going to be sick. And I… I felt something in locket was pulling me towards it. But the pain in my scar helped, it kept me away from the locket."

"Are you sure, that you felt a pull toward it, Harry?" asked Dumbledore putting his garnered hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah, I think so" Harry replied trying to forget the heavily sick feeling he tasted just minutes ago.

"Where is this locket Harry? Who found it?" Dumbledore insisted still trying to scrutinize Harry.

"It's there in that box, Hermione found it in Kreacher's nest." Harry answered looking at the box sitting on the table.

To everyone's surprise Dumbledore approached the table with startling speed. In a swift motion he removed his wand from his robe and waved over the box. The lid opened with a snap and Dumbledore took his first look at the locket. A moment passed and he cautiously tapped the stone with his wand. Nothing happened. Very slowly he inserted his wand under the gold chain and lifted the locket.

"Harry, if your scar begins to burn try to leave this room as quickly as possible" ordered Dumbledore sternly.

"Yes, I will" Harry assured backing away from his earlier spot.

With Harry out of sight Dumbledore removed the locket completely out of the box and held in front of his eyes. He observed it keenly noticing every tiny detail. The snake like 'S' sign on the stone caught his interest and with alarm he realized whom it belonged to but that didn't solve the mystery about why Harry's scar reacted in its presence? Few thoughts came into his mind but before he would conclude them he needed to connect some missing dots. With that thought in mind he lowered the locket but before he put it into its box a loud crack sounded and Kreacher appeared in the kitchen.

"… I found it… The blood traitor Weasley and the Mudblood stole it from I… I found it… Master I found it… but the strong old wizard is having it. I failed you Master… " the old elf muttered staring at the locket dangling around Dumbledore's wand.

"Kreacher! Stop those insults this instant" barked Sirius coming forward "I told you not to come here again."

"Master…" said Kreacher bowing to Sirius. "The disappointment. Caused pain to mistress. Turned on his family for a traitor and beastly friend. The little Master Regulus was good to Kreacher…"

Everyone heard the elf mumble under his breath. Suddenly, the old elf straightened up and gazed strangely at the locket still hanging around Dumbledore's wand. And then he wailed loudly "The locket, Master Regulus's locket. Kreacher did wrong, Kreacher failed in his orders! Kreacher failed to destroy it!"

And then he lunged towards the wall trying to punish himself but Dumbledore was quick. He freed his wand from the locket and conjured a thick cotton wad preventing the old elf from smashing his head into the stone wall.

"Sirius, order him to stay still" prompted Dumbledore staring at the surprised elf still buried in the cotton.

"Kreacher, stop. No more punishment! Just stand still."

Kreacher heard the order and stood up on his spot glancing at everyone with his big blue eyes.

Dumbledore shut the box and lifted it carefully. Then very steadily he approached the elf. He looked at Sirius and others now standing together facing them.

"Kreacher, do you know the locket in this box?" asked Dumbledore gently.

The old elf looked up and stared blankly at the box Dumbledore showing him.

"Kreacher answer. And don't lie." Sirius ordered again but this time without shouting.

"Yes Master. Kreacher knows the locket. It is Master Regulus's locket."

"Kreacher, did Regulus tell you to destroy it?"

"Yes. The little Master Regulus told Kreacher to destroy it. Kreacher failed in his task. Kreacher used every bit of his magic but failed to destroy it" the old elf said desperately.

"Kreacher! Don't feel bad. You did try to destroy it; you didn't disappoint your master. And if you tell us everything about this locket then we will help you to destroy it." Dumbledore offered gently.

The statement had a miraculous effect on the elf. His eyes glinted with hope. "The wise wizard wants to help Kreacher. Kreacher is Happy. He likes to tell the story to the wise wizard master."

"Yes, Kreacher I really want to help you and I think your story is important in order to do that" said Dumbledore conjuring a plush chair to seat himself.

The old elf took a seat on the cotton wad. With teary eyes he stared at everyone and then began the tale no one thought of knowing ever.

"Master Regulus was a good boy. He loved every one. He liked Master Sirius too. He always wanted to become like Master Sirius. But one day Master Sirius ran. He left Master Regulus alone and sad. He was a bad influence on Master Regulus. He broke Master Regulus and my Mistress's heart by running away from the Black family's honor and dignity. Master Regulus behaved properly and followed my Mistress's orders. Like my Mistress he liked to talk about the Dark Lord. He talked of the glory the Dark Lord was going to bring. He liked the idea of helping the Dark Lord to rule over the Muggles and Mudbloods. And then he became sixteen and took the mark proudly. He eagerly joined the Dark lord and made my Mistress happy and proud. He served the Dark Lord for a year. Then something happened…"

Kreacher paused for a minute and resumed his tale in a distant voice. "One day Master Regulus came to visit Kreacher. He told Kreacher that the Dark Lord wanted him. Kreacher knew Master Regulus always liked him. He knew serving the Dark Lord would make Master Regulus happy."

Harry felt pity for the old elf. He knew that nothing good was going to come out of this tale. It was going to end up in pain and misery. With a heavy heart he glanced at the other members standing there. Hermione was crying silently and was holding Ron's hand. Ron himself looked gloomy. Ginny was sitting on chair with fresh tears in her eyes. In front of her stood Remus with a depressed look etched on his face. But what agitated his mind most was the look of remorse and guilt on Sirius's face.

"Kreacher what happened then?" whispered Sirius gently.

With a heart wrenching sob the old elf looked at his least favorite master and answered, "Master Regulus told me to follow the Dark Lord's every order. And then he told Kreacher to come home. Kreacher proudly obeyed Master Regulus's wish and went to the Dark Lord.

"The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what he wanted Kreacher for. He just took Kreacher with him to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake." The old elf shivered as he remembered the dreadful memory.

With a withered heart everyone in that room witnessed Kreacher's agonizing past. They wanted to do something but they couldn't do anything other than listen to the tale.

"On the shore of lake was a tiny boat to carry only two people. The Dark Lord made the boat float on the black water. At the center of black lake there was an island. The boat stopped there. On the island the Dark Lord showed Kreacher a basin filled with a mysterious potion. And then… then the Dark Lord ordered Kreacher to drink the Potion. Kreacher did not like the potion. The nasty potion burned his insides. Kreacher screamed for water but the Dark Lord did not show mercy. Kreacher saw horrible things, he cried for Master Regulus to help, he cried for his Mistress Black to save him. No one came to help. The Dark Lord forced Kreacher to drink the potion until the basin was empty. Then he dropped that Locket in the empty basin and filled it again with the potion. And then the Dark Lord left Kreacher, alone on the island, to die without water. But Kreacher tried. He tried to drink the water from the lake but terrible dead things tried to draw him into the water. Kreacher thought he was going die there but then remember kind Master Regulus telling him to come home. So I returned to my Master Regulus."

"But then how did this locket end up with you?" asked Dumbledore kindly.

Kreacher shook his head with dread and began to rock back and forth. The fresh tears began to flow from his eyes.

The pain was now so evident on Kreacher's features that it melted Sirius heart. Sorrowfully he walked up to Kreacher and to Hermione and the others' surprise he sat down beside his elf and pleaded. "Kreacher please, for the love of your Master Regulus finish this story"

Kreacher stopped rocking and looked at Sirius in bewilderment. "When Kreacher returned to Master Regulus he felt bad for Kreacher. He felt worried and angry. He did not like the way the Dark Lord treated Kreacher. He hid and nursed Kreacher back to health. A few weeks later Master Regulus came to Kreacher. That day he behaved strangely. Kreacher knew Master Regulus was sick and behaving odd. He requested Kreacher to take him where Kreacher went with the Dark Lord. So Kreacher took Master Regulus to the black lake and then to the island. There he gave Kreacher a locket exactly like the one placed in the potion filled basin. Master Regulus told Kreacher to switch the second locket with the original one when the basin became empty. Then to go home and destroy the locket and never tell anyone what happened with him."

With blood shot eyes Kreacher looked at Sirius and said "Kreacher was unhappy. He didn't like Master Regulus hurting himself. He begged him not to do so but Master Regulus ordered him again and again. So Kreacher obeyed. He saw his master drink the horrible potion. Then Kreacher switched the lockets and saw Master Regulus dragged by the dead things under the black water. Kreacher tried to help but Master had ordered him to go home without him. So Kreacher came home and tried to destroy the locket. But he failed. He failed his master. Kreacher does not know the way to open the locket. He failed his Master."

Kreacher wailed in agony and tried to bang his head on Dumbledore's chair but Sirius held him on time. "Kreacher stop. Don't hurt yourself. You didn't fail your Master. You did a good job Kreacher. I promise you that I'll destroy that locket. Now stop crying."

"Master Sirius, you are making Kreacher happy! Kreacher is happy to finish what Master Regulus told him to do!" Kreacher said with joy, fresh tears pouring from his eyes

"Thank you Kreacher for sharing your deepest and darkest secret with us. Now you are free from the burden" said Dumbledore sincerely.

Satisfied, he looked at Sirius and gave him the rarest look of pride.

Everyone sighed and tried to shake the dampness saturated in their minds. With a smile Harry approached Sirius and offered his hand which Sirius took and stood. Thoughtfully, he looked at his still sniffling house elf and ordered gently "Kreacher, go get cleaned and wear some nice clothes. And from now on don't forget you belonged to the Ancient and Noble family of Black. It is bad to throw insults to friends and family of your master. This is your house and your responsibility, so from now on take good care of this house. You could ask another elf to help you if you'd like that."

Kreacher watched Sirius with odd expression. His tennis ball sized blue eyes stared at Sirius without blinking. And then he stunned everyone by giving his one of the eeriest smiles ever. He stood from his seat and approached Sirius. With a giddy look on his face he pulled himself up a few inches above the floor and took both of Sirius's hands into his own thin ones. Still grinning, he bent and kissed the hands he was holding. Thousands of golden rays burst from his chest and began to encircle Sirius until they reached his chest where they lingered a minute and then vanished suddenly. The next moment with a satisfied mysterious grin Kreacher freed Sirius from his elfish magic, gave a small bow and vanished with a crack in thin air.

"What was that? What he did to Sirius?" asked Hermione with confusion.

"If I'm correct then Kreacher just accepted Sirius as his knew master by renewing his bonds with him" Dumbledore answered with a smile.

Maybe for first time in her life Hermione felt lost for words and decided to be happy for Sirius being nice with his house elf.

"Now, I know everyone has many questions about this locket but before we discuss it further I need to analyze some of my own theories. And it will be a wise decision that I should discuss my conclusions at the right time with certain people only."

"You mean the adults? But that's unfair. We found it first and we really want to know" pointed out Ginny stubbornly.

"I agree with Ginny. We need to know what's happening" said Harry without hiding his frustration.

"Yeah, we should know the truth" supported Ron.

Dumbledore observed four teenagers sitting in front him with amusement as well as admiration. One part of him knew they are brave and capable of hearing everything but the other much wiser part knew they were mere children with dreams and ambitions. Their innocence should be preserved and they should be given a chance to enjoy and explore the relentless opportunities offered by their youth. Burdening them prematurely with certain knowledge that put their lives in danger would be an unfair decision. Dumbledore knew one day in the future when they would be strong enough he would tell them about the ruthless veracities he was tired of bearing. But that day was not to be today.

"I apologize Ms. Weasley, but I've very strict instructions from Molly about not telling things that might endanger you and your friends' lives."

Hermione heard Dumbledore and realized there was no point in arguing with him or anyone else. They were just trying to protect them. "Ginny, Professor Dumbledore has a point. We don't possess enough knowledge and skill to deal with this."

Ginny, Harry and Ron threw an annoyed look at Hermione. They didn't understand why she destroyed their only chance of knowing about the locket. With a resigned look they all stood from their chairs and began walking towards the staircase.

Hermione too followed but suddenly she stopped and turned around. She looked at Dumbledore resolutely and asked. "Professor, there were four of them, weren't there? I know whom that locket belonged to."

"That is very resourceful of you Ms. Granger" replied Dumbledore serenely "But what I presume is unfortunately he hadn't started with any of them. What I knew is, one is safe and three were missing. But now we have this locket which makes it crucial that we find the remaining two as quickly as possible."

Harry, Ron and Ginny tried but they failed to understand the mysterious conversation. The only person other than Hermione who worked out the puzzle was Remus Lupin and it annoyed him that instead of shooing Hermione away Dumbledore motivated her to solve a decade old puzzle.

"Thank you, Professor" Hermione replied with a triumphant smile and then hurried over towards the stairs leading her to the uppermost floor; where last night in search of the library she had accidently found a door inscribed with the letters "R.A.B."

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 **A.N.: Thanks for sticking with this story. Please read and review. Enjoy..!**


	13. The Help

**Disclaimer** **: Exactly similar to one written at the beginning of last twelve chapters.**

 **vvvvvvv**

 **CHAPTER 13**

 **THE HELP**

Severus was feeling like a fool for going over there. It was past noon and he was still alone waiting there sitting on her porch. He never considered himself a patient man and hated everything that involved waiting. He looked at his wrist watch for the tenth time and growled. It was half past twelve. He glared at the spot where he apparated thirty minutes ago. A part of him pondered over the possibility of leaving the damn house but then he decided against it, which was quite a wise decision because getting a seat at Tom's inn would be a herculean job at this rush hour. Hence he sat there like a ticking time bomb waiting in hope that his hostess would arrive soon. But that didn't work. He finally lost his patience and got up to do something that he never thought he would be doing.

He purposefully walked towards the front door. A moment of hesitation passed before he retrieved his wand from the sleeve of his crisp white button down shirt.

" _Alohomora_ " Severus whispered and the old heavy door opened with a click.

He walked inside and locked the door behind him. He took a glance around but nothing had changed. Everything looked oddly familiar. But that didn't sooth his mind. In fact the emptiness of the house bothered him which was quite unusual especially when it wasn't his house. The unnecessary thoughts increased his irritation ten folds and also forced him to walk through the hallway and walk into the kitchen. And to prove he was having a bad day he wrenched open the fridge. For a moment he skimmed over the contents and then found what he was searching for. A chilled bottle of beer. With a simple twist he opened the bottle. The liquid bubbled up but before it spilled out Severus drank almost half of it in one go. The cold liquid felt refreshing especially on a hot summer day like the one he was facing today. It helped him to ebb some of his irritation and collect his thoughts about what he should do next. The answer was simple, he should cook something. But Severus wasn't in a hurry, instead he stood there leaning against the small kitchen table enjoying his chilled beer. He tried to stretch the moment of leisure but it didn't last forever.

A moment later he dumped the empty bottle in a bin and prepared himself to take control of the kitchen. With deliberate movements he unbuttoned shirt and rolled up the sleevesinto neat folds and began searching through the storage cabinets. Surprisingly, in a few minutes he found what he was searching for, a ready to cook package of pasta.

With a groan he eyed the packet. The idea of making something that already was half-cooked and came in a sealed plastic wrapping was repulsive. But he didn't have any options as half of the shelves were empty. So with a sigh he picked up the packet but before he tore it open he heard the whooshing of the fireplace.

 **vvvvvvv**

Megan got worried as Remus and Sirius took a little longer to finish their lessons that day. At first she was distracted by the events that happened in the morning but then Remus got her attention and made her repeat everything she had learned in the last lesson including the spells she had learned from Molly. Megan performed well so they introduced her to another bunch of spells. Then like yesterday they told her to practice them which she did, until Harry came and snatched her away giving an excuse that he needed to get some of his important things from Megan's house. Once out, she got ready in record time and ran to the newfound fireplace where she found Harry who thoughtfully had managed to buy the takeaway lunch.

"Damn, we're late Harry. He'll be here any minute." Megan commented the moment she and Harry tumbled out of her fireplace. She tightened her hold on the bags of takeaway food Harry had handed her and hurried towards the kitchen.

Harry just grinned and followed Megan thinking about how Snape would react when he would ask him the favour.

"Oh my God!" Megan exclaimed suddenly halting at the kitchen's entrance.

"What is it? " Harry asked with alarm. Instantly he retrieved his wand and stepped in front of Megan but immediately regretted the decision.

"Ah, always a hero!" Severus's remark cut through the air causing Harry to lower his wand.

"I see, you still remember the invitation then." It was aimed at Megan who coolly accepted the taunt and replied with an apology.

"Severus, I'm really sorry. I was caught in my lessons. I tried to escape but failed." And with that she moved to put all the food bags on the table.

"Harry, will you get the plates" Megan requested unpacking the food.

"Okay" replied Harry tucking his wand inside his jacket. He got plates, spoons and other things from the cabinets, arranged them on the table and looked at his teacher.

Megan knew Severus was staring at her but she ignored him keeping herself busy with unpacking the contents of the bags. It was Indian food, some delicious looking roasted lamb, curry, rice and bread.

"It looks delicious, doesn't it?" Megan asked gathering her will, staring into the fathomless black eyes of the brooding man standing in front of her.

Severus found himself staring back into those beautiful eyes and then it happened again. An invisible almost feather light presence brushed his mind and he felt serenity soaking through his soul, making him forget his annoyance and worries.

"I think we should eat" said Megan abruptly interrupting the spell she unknowingly put on Severus.

Severus blinked for a moment trying to understand what exactly just happened. A suspicion crossed his mind and he glanced once again at Megan but she just smiled and sat down. Still a bit confused he took a seat next to her and looked at Harry saying, "Potter, do you need an invitation to sit?" And then he saw Harry's scar, inflamed and red. An alert rang in his mind and he remembered something else, an unexplained feeling of fear had shaken him early that morning. And now seeing Harry's reddened scar the feeling returned, ten times as intense.

"Potter, what happened to your scar?" asked Severus stopping Megan serving food on their plates.

The question wiped the amusing smile from Harry's face. He remembered the excruciating pain and the helplessness he felt just a few hours back.

"Potter" Severus incited driving Harry to come forward and take a seat on Megan's other side.

Harry wasn't sure that he really wanted to make things complicated by telling Snape something this personal. And there would be a possibility that Snape might use it to humiliate him which was not good especially when almost the entire wizarding world considered him an attention seeking nut job, a special curtsy of the Daily Prophet and Rita Skitter.

"Harry" encouraged Megan sensing his reluctance. She had an intution that if Harry wanted to get help from Severus then he had to try hard. He had to show his Potion Master that he was desperate and could do anything. And according to Megan Harry had a chance because it was quite evident to her that despite Severus's dislike he had never stopped looking after Lily's son.

"Harry" repeated Megan this time with urgency as she saw the frustration once again creeping over Severus's face.

But Harry didn't answer. He felt stupid for arranging the meeting and facing Snape.

"Potter unlike you I don't have the entire day to wait while you decide whether I'm worthy or not to hear your internal musings."

 _'And here I was beginning to think that Snape has drunk some of his personality altering potion'_ thought Harry silently. But then he saw Megan giving him look of disapproval that reminded him of the same look Mrs. Weasley gave the Twins on many occasions. So to be on the safer side he answered. He told Snape everything starting from how Hermione found the locket and how Dumbledore decided to discuss everything when he finished with his own research. Harry wisely omitted the part where Dumbledore gave some hints to Hermione and how she now possessed few books and a journal that belonged to Regulus Black.

"Hmm, an interesting story indeed. We thought the Dark lord killed Regulus not the inferi."

"What's inferi and wait a second, how did you know Regulus?"

"Of course I knew Regulus. He was in Slytherin a year behind us."

"And he was a death eater too. I forgot" said Harry eying Severus quietly.

But Severus didn't take the bait, he just ignored and asked further.

"Potter did this pain resemble the pain you feel if the dark lard was around?

"Not that worst, it was definitely a notch less than facing Voldemort."

"Potter, how many times should I remind you not to say that name in front of me."

"But Dumbledore does then why shouldn't I?" asked Harry stubbornly.

"Its Professor Dumbledore for you and he is a powerful wizard Potter. His mere presence sooths the darkness and temptation triggered by the enchanted name. Otherwise the wretched name has a compulsive effect on minds which bears his marks."

There was bitterness in Severus's voice and like Harry Megan felt it too.

"I'm sorry Professor" Harry apologized.

The unexpected apology surprised Severus but he ignored it. Instead he focused his thoughts on finding a way to reveal the delicate changes he came across in last few days. He wasn't sure about Megan or Harry's reaction but was certain about one fact that there would never be a better time than the current moment to get the implausible burden off his chest. Thus he seized the opportunity.

"There is something else I would like to tell you both but before I reveal this information I need an assurance from both of you that the information will remain with you."

Severus watched Harry and Megan steadily and gave them time to process what he said.

A minute passed and Megan agreed first. "Okay, I promise."

Severus heard Megan but didn't comment instead he waited for Harry. But Harry remained silent which was a mistake as Severus's expression began to harden. Luckily Harry noticed the changes on time and wisely came with a quick response. "Okay, I promise too."

"Hmm, but Potter, I warn you if you repeat a syllable of this to your precious friends or to Black you will know the real meaning of harassment."

"Okay fine. I swear not to tell anyone." Harry said trying not to think about how this special harassment would differ from the regular which he was getting for the last four years.

"Does this have something to do with today's events?" asked Megan with an uneasy feeling.

"Not exactly but their occurrence helped me draw some conclusions." Severus paused and then with a grave expression continued. "Potter, while telling his tale, mentioned that when his scar burned you panicked while you were at the Burrow." Severus eyes found Megan's and she nodded.

"Unfortunately at the exact time I sensed it too". Severus's stern voice mellowed a bit.

"What..? But how? ... How is that possible?" Harry tried to wrap his mind around the idea but failed. He looked at Megan for support but she looked staggered too.

"Potter, I didn't expect you to grasp this but Potions are powerful tools. They grant you anything that you wish for but before you add any ingredients you need to have a profound knowledge of the interactions they will have with each other. But unfortunately sometimes we fail to get sufficient knowledge and end up with a potion harboring unexpected effects. For instance, when we brewed the Healing Elixir for Megan we mixed together our bloods in other words portions of our magic and then without understanding it fully we consumed it. And…"

Severus paused and leaned back in his chair. To Harry and Megan's surprise the Potion Master looked uncomfortable as he reached towards the punch line of his discovery.

Megan's uncanny ability to read Harry and Severus's moods that was strengthening day by day got a strong hint of painful helplessness from Severus. For some reason it made her sad too. Automatically her hand moved forward and brushed Severus's fingers.

Severus watched Megan's slender fingers touching his own. The touch calmed the storm building inside him. He felt it spreading over his mind, encouraging him to speak the most difficult part of his discovery. A moment of harmony passed and he suddenly jerked his hand back, breaking the link.

Harry watched the weird interaction with confusion but ignored it for the sake of more information.

In a few seconds Severus successfully concealed his own conflicting emotions and decided it was bad idea to halt the conversation.

"So what I discovered was that the Elixir forged an unusual bond among the three of us." Severus felt the burden diminish by a few tones, easing him into confiding everything else. "I had my doubts but Dumbledore chose not to mention this particular side effect. Therefore while brewing the Elixir I researched each ingredient and found out some possible effects. And this morning we experienced one of them. And that wasn't the first one that bothers me."

"You mean to say there are more effects than feeling each other's emotions?" Megan asked the exact question that was bothering Harry.

"I'm afraid but the answer to this question is not that simple" Severus answered but that wasn't enough for Harry or Megan.

"Okay then try to explain it" Megan insisted stubbornly.

"Fine" Severus replied and continued. "What I understood from my research is the magic in this elixir works in a different way. The few centuries old parchment which I got my hands on said the original elixir was designed to heal the magical core of a child instead of an adult. But other than this both elixirs are similar and needed blood from three individuals, mostly two adults and one child. But unlike other elixirs, this rare one affects all three participants. Obviously as it is a healing potion, it will always heal the one who needs it most and then it will try to heal something nominal in the remaining two. The startling fact was that once the three people drink the elixir the powerful magic in it will forge a bond among them but unfortunately it always considers the two adults as a responsible figure for the minor involved in the ritual, and that's why whenever said child faces certain strong emotions the bond will trigger it's response in the adults."

"That explains my panic when Harry's scar burned this morning" said Megan coming to a conclusion.

"That's horrible. So how are we going to break this? I mean there has to be a spell or some kind of potion?" Harry asked with a shock. He didn't like the idea of being on someone's radar whenever he felt joy or pain. The whole idea was absurd and needed to stop in anyhow in the beginning only.

"Potter I'd love to do anything to break this preposterous bond but apparently I haven't found anything." Severus snapped remembering the number of hours he had spent to read scroll after scroll of laden with complicated information.

"Come on you two" Megan cajoled trying to stop the argument. It was clear to her that there was no point in denying what already had happened. What they could do now was just to roll with the new situations and wait until something new happened. "Frankly speaking whatever has been happening is not that bad. May be feeling Harry's emotions will help me to know whether he is in trouble or not. It will be a useful aid like Molly's clock."

"That's different Megan. This whole idea of keeping tabs on me is spooky. What about the false alarms like when I'm chasing a Snitch on a broom or just riding a Hippogriff?" Harry tried to prove the absurdness of entire idea.

"And as per my knowledge both are very dangerous situations" quipped Severus drawing a scowl from Harry.

"Okay guys, that's enough for now. And believe me but we won't be getting any solution with empty stomach. Therefore what I suggest is let's finish this delicious looking food first and then we'll together try to resolve this mess."

And with that Megan served the food which they finished quietly. At the end Megan removed the frozen double chocolate lemon pie for desert. She cut it into pieces and served it in three plates.

"Severus, actually this lunch was Harry's idea, not mine" said Megan bringing the topic for which they were there.

Severus stared at Harry for a minute and then said "Which is no doubt unforeseen and also questionable as I failed to understand significance of it."

"Professor, I need your help with something" Harry said directly coming to the point.

"My help, what for?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"Umm… to find Pettigrew" said Harry gathering all his Gryffindor courage.

Severus's face strained as he heard the name of the traitor. He also realized that Harry was brewing something dangerous and by asking help he offered Severus a golden opportunity to look into. So he decided to play along. "And, do you think I know where the rat is?"

"Yes, may be."

"May I know what made you jump to that conclusion?"

"I know what Dumbledore had asked you on the night when Voldemort returned" Harry bluffed about knowing Snape spying for Dumbledore.

"Potter" warned Severus.

"Okay fine it's You-Know-Who but I know Pettigrew was the one who was helping him. That also means as spy you have seen Pettigrew somewhere around You-Know-Who."

Severus deliberately ignored the mention of the word spy. Instead he focused on Pettigrew. "But why the sudden interest in capturing Pettigrew?" With a smirk Severus answered his own question. "Oh, of course, you want him to save your Godfather, isn't it Potter?"

"Yes, I do. I know you hate him but please I really need your help. I promise once this is over I'll never bother you again" Harry tried his best.

"Hmm, that's a very interesting offer Potter. But I want something else in return" bargained Severus.

"And what is that?" Harry dreaded the worst.

"I want you to tell me what you are going to do when you get Pettigrew's whereabouts?"

"Umm, I don't know yet. May be I'll contact Dumbledore so that he can catch Pettigrew and prove Sirius's innocence."

"A wise decision but I have a much better option" said Severus thoughtfully. "What if I directly talk to Dumbledore and then he does the rest? In short I don't have to torture myself meeting you every now and then."

Harry thought for moment, the suggestion wasn't that bad. "I'm okay with that." said Harry with a smile not realizing Severus had tactfully avoided any of his involvement in the whole matter.

"So, you really think Dumbledore will catch him?" asked Megan finishing her pie.

"Only if I find a way to lure Pettigrew away from the Dark Lord" Severus replied gravely already thinking about the best way of catching the traitor responsible for Lily's death.

"Umm, Megan do you mind if I go fetch a few books and stuff from my room?"

"Sure, Harry. You don't need my permission and anyway we are not in hurry."

With a smile Harry got up and ran towards the upstairs leaving behind the two adults who had plenty of unfinished things to chat about.

"I know you're still hiding something about the Elixir" Megan asked directly, without wasting any time.

"We really need to discuss your abilities Megan but before that I think its time you should know something else too."

"Yes, I'm listening."

"After the ritual when I finally went to my house I found this" Severus removed an official looking scroll with a broken wax seal.

Curiously Megan took the scroll and observed the seal. It was golden and had an engraved design of some building surrounded by a sentence written in some unknown language.

"Read it" Severus instructed staring seriously at the letter. " It is from Gringotts, a wizarding Bank operated by very fierce and unfriendly Goblins."

Megan nodded and gently unfolded the letter. Although it was short she took her time. She read it atleast three times, each time getting more and more confused. Finally she looked up with a mixture of shock and indictment.

"Severus, this is rubbish and I really don't get it. How on earth can they do this? I'm going to sue them once I get a valid explanation." Megan threatened fiercely.

"Megan, I understand your reaction but it wasn't the goblin's fault. As my estate manager they are just doing their duty and informing me the updates" Severus tried to give a reasonable rehearsed response. "Trust me but I was as stunned as you when I read the letter first time. I even visited the bank to clear this mess but to my surprise they showed me other legitimate documentation proving the fact that they didn't make any mistake on their end."

"If it's not their mistake then who did this? "

Severus kept his own anger in check and tried to explain. " My guess is the damn elixir did this. Remember what I said earlier about my findings."

Megan immediately remembered their previous conversation and froze as she realized what Severus was trying to imply. And the letter she was holding was just proving the same thing. "Yes, the damn elixir! So what we do now? I mean we don't want any of this to happen? What about Harry? How will he react if he read this?" There was panic in Megan's voice.

"Yes, that's true, but frankly speaking I don't know if any solution is there to rescue us from this situation." Severus replied this time without hiding his frustration. "Apparently, the effect is permanent and there is no way to reverse it. This also means one day we will need to tell Potter the truth which he will certainly hate but definitely not today." Severus sincerely hated to do this but at that moment he was helpless and failed to see any other option.

A moment of silence passed between them and then they heard the footsteps. With a simple wave of his wand Severus vanished the scroll and looked intently at Megan silently suggesting they shouldn't be discussing it again until the time necessitates it.

 **vvvvvvv**

 **A.N.: Dear readers. Please let me know what you think about this chapter. Enjoy..!**


	14. Tying The Loose Ends

**Chapter 14**

 **Tying the loose ends**

Cloaked in darkness he crawled forward. He could feel the change in the brightness. It had certainly dampened since the last time he had visited. And that was a welcome change. With a new found vigor he pushed forward continuing the search, but nothing was found. He roamed here and there without any success. His earlier hope of finding something started to wane. The frustration of his futile endeavor angered him so much that he decided to leave the infuriating place. So he turned around and there, hidden beyond the folds of repulsive brightness found what he was looking for. A dark hairline fracture, a gateway that would grant him the answers he had waited for this long.

Harry woke up with a start, soaked in cold sweat. He could still feel the hideous laughter that flooded his mind with fear. Automatically his hand touched his prickling scar. The cold touch made him shudder. With a practiced habit he tried to find his glasses but then realized he didn't need them anymore. He took few deep breaths and then looked around. The room was almost dark only for the diffusing streetlight coming through the window. It helped Harry to see the silhouette of a lightly snoring Ron. But unlike every other time, instead of feeling reassured, he felt envious anger filling his senses. He felt jealous for Ron having a carefree normal life while he had a complicated one. He didn't realize where those feelings came from but he felt lonely and bitter, dumped back into the darkness of his cupboard under the stairs. He searched his bedside for his wand as an evil thought crept into his mind. A vicious spell he never had heard before had begun to form in his head. As he found the wand his fingers immediately curled around the handle absorbing the comfortable warmth from the wood. With an eerie smile he pointed his wand at his sleeping friend, but suddenly just before he could incant the spell a white ball of feathers dashed towards him, nipping sharply on his fingers making Harry drop his wand promptly. He blinked as an unexpected pain flooded his mind releasing it from the vise like grip of a daunting presence. Hedwig hooted loudly; flapping around Harry, she made sure he didn't pick his wand again.

"Harry, what happened? Are you alright?" Ron asked sleepily trying to figure out why Hedwig was making a ruckus at this time of night.

The question was enough to drag Harry out of his nightmare induced darkness. The concern in Ron's voice evoked a wave of guilt in his mind. He was horrified by the thought of harming Ron and thinking of dumping his crappy life on him. He felt selfish for forgetting Megan or Sirius's great efforts to take him out of his cupboard and trying to make his life worth living.

"Harry", Ron asked again this time sitting upright, alertness clear in his voice.

"Just a bad dream" Harry lied trying to calm his friend.

"Want to talk about it?" Ron asked awkwardly. He remembered when he was little and had some nasty dreams mostly involving spiders his father asked him the same question and it always worked for him. "You know it helps" Ron insisted getting up from his bed.

Harry watched Ron's dark figure moving along the sidewall and cautiously searching for something. A moment passed and Harry heard the telltale sound of a wand tapping followed by a yellowish light bursting from the lamp which was magicked to light up whenever someone touches it with a wand.

Ron observed Harry silently, stubbornly waiting to get a response from his mate.

The genuine stare augmented Harry's guilt by a thousand times. He thought about spilling his gut but realized he couldn't expect Ron to understand and explain what just happened a moment ago or why his scar was behaving odd lately. He silently thanked Hedwig for interrupting him on time and avoided the unthinkable. But he did owe an explanation to Ron of course omitting a few details.

"Sorry to wake you up Ron." Harry started with what seemed a simple apology but in reality he knew it wasn't enough. "I had a nightmare. Hedwig helped me out of it." Harry showed his scratched fingers.

"That looks nasty mate" Ron replied sympathetically as he threw a thoughtful glance towards a silently sitting Hedwig on her perch. "So what exactly did you see in this nightmare?"

Harry hesitated for a moment but then remembered Ron deserved to know at least some of the truth. "I didn't see anyone. I just felt a thick darkness trying to suffocate me. I struggled helplessly to get free, to breathe but I just couldn't. And then I suddenly woke up feeling angry and abandoned."

"Harry, you are not alone and you already know it." Ron demanded trying to make sense of what his friend was talking about.

"Of course I know it Ron" Harry gave a guilt driven honest response.

"That's good then" Ron relaxed a bit deciding not to pry further. He remained silent until a yawn escaped his mouth and forced him to change the subject. "You remember Ginny told us to meet in her room first thing in the morning. I think Hermione found something about the locket after camping four days in that damn library. And if you are feeling okay then I suggest we should try to get as much sleep as we can before Hermione stuffs our brain with some tedious information."

"Oh I forgot." Harry grinned already forgetting the bad dream. "And you are correct about being better prepared than sorry when facing a charged up Hermione. I bet she is still torturing those crazy books to squeeze out some last moment information."

"Yeah, that's true" Ron laughed tapping the magical lamp which immediately switched off drowning the entire room once again in peaceful darkness.

******VVVVVV*******

Fawkes landed smoothly on his perch catching Dumbledore's attention. But unlike every time Dumbledore greeted him with a tired smile to which Fawkes responded with a soft trill trying to sooth whatever was bothering his old friend.

"I'm grateful to have you Fawkes" Dumbledore thanked him. "So how was the hunting?"

The bird trilled in response getting a nod of praise from Dumbledore.

"Lemon drops" Dumbledore offered the sweet.

If fluffing your plumage and looking away from someone meant an irritated look from a bird then Fawkes just definitely gave it to Dumbledore.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you don't like lemon drops." Dumbledore nibbled on one saying "they are soothing you know".

Fawkes just flapped his wings and busied himself in preening.

"See your familiar dislikes it too." One of the stern looking headmistresses pointed out the fact through her portrait. "And for Merlin's sake instead of sucking on those sweets why don't you try some real breakfast. If I remember correctly then missed last night's dinner too. I don't get it but is that thick tomb you are reading really important than your health? "

"Yes, it is Amanda. The magic described in this book is powerful and brilliant and that makes it extremely dangerous too." Dumbledore stared blankly at the stone basin he to analyze various memories he had collected over the last five years. "Two years ago I forced myself not to discard the possibility of someone using such vicious magic and now it seems I was correct. Tom does know how to use this knowledge. "

"But what about that boy then?" asked another stern looking portrait of a former headmaster. "Why you are not preparing him for what is waiting for him in the future? Why are you keeping him in the dark?"

Dumbledore looked amusingly at the portrait of Phineas Black. "And you seem quite worried about it".

The Phineas in portrait glared haughtily with an aristocratic sneer plastered on his face. He hated the current headmaster with passion. "Don't be ridiculous Albus. The boy is naive and doesn't have a thread of self-preservation. He has his own kind of foolish heroism. He thinks he can endure anything and if he neglects reality the pain will go away. Mark my words Albus, the boy needs a firm hand which will teach him lying about nightmares is not a very good thing to do."

"A nightmare?" Dumbledore asked inquisitively.

"Yes, a nightmare. The one he had last night. Albus, he was clutching his scar and looked disturbed when he woke up."

The mention of Harry's scar alerted Dumbledore. It made him think for the millionth time about Harry's safety. "How is he now?"

"He seems fine now, at least to his red head friend. But he can't fool me. I say him last night aiming his wand murderously at the same friend."

Dumbledore wasn't expecting that. He knew Harry so well that his odd behavior made worried Dumbledore.

Suddenly all portraits including that of Phineas Black became still. Dumbledore adjusted his own expression to polite curiosity and waited for a knock. As he expected a knock came followed by the opening of the office door by a very serious looking Severus Snape.

"Ah, Severus, what a coincidence! I was just thinking about you."

"Good morning Albus" Severus greeted curtly.

"Good morning Severus, have seat. Would you like to have some breakfast?"

"Thank you for asking but I already had mine" Severus replied taking the seat.

"You are welcome. So what brings you here at this early hour?" Dumbledore asked with smile.

Severus stared silently at his mentor trying to decide whether he should test his theory or not. He chose the second option considering Dumbledore's ability to become a mastermind whenever time required it. So without breaking eye contact he slowly retrieved the scroll, the same one he had shown to Megan four days ago. "I received this." Severus offered the scroll.

Dumbledore took the scroll, opened it and slowly read it through his half-moon spectacles.

The lines written inside the scroll wiped out the pleasant smile from the old wizard's face. He looked up gazing directly into Severus's obsidian eyes.

Severus didn't dare to look away. He knew that rare look that reflected a ruthless powerful wizard.

"I suppose you received this scroll immediately after the ritual."

"Yes, I found it lying on my owl post" Severus answered truthfully without missing Dumbledore's efforts to keep his composure. Severus tried not to pry but he could see the wheels beginning to turn inside that ancient brain.

"Why did you wait this long then?" Dumbledore's voice softened a bit as he saw an invisible tiny ray of hope clinging to the scroll he was looking at. Until that moment he wasn't expecting something of such a grave importance to happen. But now he could see the hidden possibilities.

"I preferred to check its validity first and then do some research of my own. Especially under the circumstances where you presumed it wasn't important to inform us about certain ramifications of consuming the Elixir." Severus promptly justified the delay but he also got confused by the gentleness that replaced Dumbledore's incensed expressions. And then he realized fearfully that he just lost the tiny hope of the old wizard saving him from the bizarre situation. He realized he had just presented a golden opportunity on silver platter.

Dumbledore heard the accusation which was partially true but he had his reasons to take advantage of assets offered by their combined fate. The unexpected resurrection of Voldemort made him desperate to search for a stronger option that would provide Harry with better support, something that Petunia or Sirius wasn't able to do. And then there was also the guilt of not giving Harry a happy childhood. Hence when he met Megan he didn't waste any time. He just analysed her and found out she was good for Harry. Fortunately she possessed a repairable magical core and Dumbledore saw the opening. In a short period of time he came up with the idea of the elixir. And there he made the mistake. He ignored to do a thorough research which Severus did and now he was demanding an explanation.

"Severus, I need you to trust me when I say I was unaware of this particular effect." Dumbledore sounded genuine but Severus kept his stoic expression up and made Dumbledore confess the entire truth.

"Severus, the scripts I found were original and the potion master who invented this elixir only mentioned about its ability to heal the magical core by siphoning magical strength through a temporary bond. He didn't mention anything else. If you want to reconfirm then I'm happy to lend you the original scripts."

"No need of that Albus, because those scripts are useless now. And any way I've my own set of research which clearly indicates that the potion master who you are referring to failed to do further examination of his invention because he died tragically just after he invented the damn potion. But apparently he wasn't the only one who had knowledge of this elixir."

"And who was the second person?" Dumbledore asked trying to understand what went wrong.

"It was my great grandfather, Henry Prince. And like my mother he also had interest in potions. I found his study journal describing detailed effects of this elixir on every person participating in the ritual. "

"Then it's my fault and I apo... "

"Albus, don't" Severus snapped "it's unbelievable that you couldn't know nothing about elixir's effects. What about the temporary bond? Didn't you think you needed to warn us about that?"

"And if I did so, do you think you or Harry would have participated in the ritual?" Dumbledore asked matter of factly. "I thought it was a good opportunity for you to understand Harry and if possible Megan too. And that's it. I didn't anticipate it to work this effectively." Dumbledore stopped giving Severus time to understand his reasons.

But instead of approving the unnerving thoughts Severus's jaws tightened before he snapped once again "And do you think it's a good idea Albus; trying to force me into something this insane?"

Dumbledore could see anger taking hold of Severus which wasn't a good sign especially when he was thinking of suggesting an option, which would solve many of his worries in a single shot.

"Albus..." Severus was up for the argument but Dumbledore stopped him.

"Severus, it should be premature to say anything. In my opinion instead of trying to fix this we should accept the facts and must work on the necessary arrangements."

"That's impossible Albus and you know very well why. I came here for a solution not the opposite." Severus scowled as he heard the utterly unexpected advice. He was certain that Dumbledore would never ask of him something that would jeopardize his role as a spy.

But apparently Dumbledore had something else in his mind and was trying to ignore Severus's objection as much as possible.

"There is no solution other than acceptance Severus and the sooner the better." Dumbledore said gently trying to figure out how this new twist of events was going to affect their future altogether. And the only way to find it out was helping Severus to take the correct decision, which also meant winning an exhausting argument against an utterly stubborn Slytherin.

For the next few minutes Dumbledore said nothing. He just waited and gave Severus time to think which turned out to be a wise decision.

Severus never liked to be controlled by anyone. But unfortunately he had lost that right the moment he broke his friendship with Lily and joined the dark forces. And now he had two equally powerful and demanding masters. The only problem was they wanted to destroy each other and Severus happened to be working in middle. In other words the situation left him with a narrow range of freedom to make his own choices. One wrong decision and he knew the Dark Lord would be waiting for him with a _Crucio_ or an _Avada kedavra_. And that's why the option Dumbledore was suggesting was a totally dangerous prospect to think about. But again hadn't he suffered enough to atone for his sins. May be it was his only chance to attain the ultimate salvation and also end the dual life he was living for a very long time.

With those unbelievable thoughts in mind Severus collected all his courage and asked the horrifying question tormenting him for more than two weeks.

"But what if the Dark Lord finds this out?"

Dumbledore didn't answer immediately instead he let the question hang in the air for a while.

"Severus I have faith in you and that's the only thing that matters here. Everything else can be managed thereafter by involving very few trustworthy people."

"What about Black? Do you think he has matured enough to understand this change?" Severus asked sarcastically.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "I guess he will. I believe we could take Remus's help to convince him. Or we can engage him in something else like uniting him with his lost family. I'm sure that will give us some time."

"I must say the suggestion has some potential." Severus admired remembering the second reason for his visit. "Albus, there is something else I would like to tell you."

"And it is about?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Potter asked me to help him find Peter Pettigrew. He wanted him in order to prove Black's innocence. "

"That's interesting." Dumbledore was intrigued by the mere idea of Harry asking something this important of Severus, which was another good sign indicating Severus and Harry were able to have a civilized conversation "And what was your response to him?"

"I told him it will be more convenient if we take care of Pettigrew without his involvement."

"Did he look convinced?" Dumbledore asked with concern.

"Apparently he was but maybe it was the effect of Megan's presence. In my opinion Potter is much too erratic to be trusted. "

"Hmm, that's a good start."

"What do you mean? Severus narrowed his eyes.

"I'm just admiring the fact that Harry found a very good timing to bring up this matter and approached you which again proves my theory that he will be fine with this new change."

"No, it doesn't prove anything because first, he did not approach me personally; instead he took Megan's help. And secondly he chose to talk to me because somehow he knows I'm working as a Spy. "

"He doesn't cease to surprise me. Anyway it's time Sirius gets his long awaited freedom back."

"I'll never say this again but we really need someone sane or rather insane from our side on that damn aristocratic Wizengamot and school board. And Black has name and power, which makes him a very good candidate."

"Well that's another thing that necessitates Sirius's freedom. But the question remains that how are we going to capture Peter?"

"I've a suggestion that involves a potion and an illegal portkey."

"Sounds good. I suppose you know where he lives then. "

"I've a few guesses, but to confirm them I need at least two days." Severus said making a list of places in his head where he had seen Peter occasionally in the last two months.

"That will also give me some time to talk to Amelia and filing the petition against the Wizengamot for throwing Sirius in Azkaban without any trial." There was a glint in Dumbledore's eyes when he said that.

"I didn't know you can still represent someone in the Wizengamot?"

"Yes, I still can. It's fortunate that Cornelius doesn't know everything about the Wizengamot."

"He is an idiot Albus, nothing less can be expected of him. But one thing is sure, you are going to cause a mass hysteria by representing Black." Severus smirked as he imagined Fudge sweating over trying to deal with Dumbledore and the angry public at the same time.

"Severus" Dumbledore called pulling Severus out from his sweet dreams. "I've an important task for you. It is regarding Harry."

The name made Severus stare exasperatedly at Dumbledore. "What now Albus? I don't want to deal with Potter at this moment. "

Dumbledore continued neglecting the protest. "I think you should start teaching him Occlumency."

"That's ridiculous. And why me when you are perfectly capable of teaching him yourself." Severus argued.

"Severus, I've my reasons. And anyway it's time you passed your skills on to someone worthy of it!" He paused for moment and added with a smile, "I did the same for you. I'm hoping you still remember those lessons. "

The topic pushed Severus down the memory lane. He remembered the way Dumbledore taught him very basics of Occlumency. It was the time when he began to trust Dumbledore and found something he was craving for his entire life, a father like figure who would love him unconditionally, guide him through a very difficult time of life, for which Severus was sincerely grateful.

"But Albus it was different when you taught me. I trust you and you treated me with a lot of patience. I must say I was fortunate to have such great teacher to learn from." Severus explained quietly.

"It wasn't me Severus; it was your desire that made everything possible. And like you Harry is worth investing your time and efforts in. Believe me one day you'll understand that Harry is not much different than you."

"No, it will not, because I'm not you and Potter knows that. He knows I was a death eater and that was a very good reason not to trust me. I'd wager that somewhere in his mind he knows I'm the one responsible for death of his parents." Severus stated bitterly spitting his mind eating thoughts loudly.

Dumbledore didn't deny the fact but he knew there were ways to deal with it. "One step at a time Severus. It's futile to live in the past; it only offers you regrets and suffering. So move on Severus, before it destroys you." There was tremor in Dumbledore's voice. He sounded like he was talking from his own experience.

"Albus, I... "

"No, let me finish. Severus this scroll is meant to change everything. It has the power to change the fate of all three of you and everyone related to you. I don't know what Megan wants but I can tell you what is good for Harry." The old wizard paused midsentence as a picture of a better future began to form in front of him. "Severus, he is a mere child burdened with too many responsibilities. He is the chosen one. And yet too naive to understand what kind of power he possesses. I'm sure one day a time will come when I won't be around to look after him or help him to decide what he should do with his future. I want you to be with him especially at that time, to make sure he won't feel vulnerable. I want you to protect him from the brutalities of life and make sure he never loses his kindness or ability to seek goodness in others."

Severus was speechless; he was baffled by the way Dumbledore was expressing his concern. He wasn't sure what gave Dumbledore the impressions that he would be interested in dealing with Harry in the present or the future. The calculative part of him laughed at the idea but his heart was concerned. Not a very long time ago he was condemning Harry's heroic acts as a foolhardy stunts with a bit of good luck but now after getting a chance to observe Harry closely his opinions had started to change. Now without any prejudice he could see Harry's bravery and resourcefulness while escaping a certain death by the Dark Lord for three times or for four if he counted the encounter when Harry was fifteen months old. It also proved another point that Harry wasn't an attention seeking mediocre wizard; rather there would be a great chance of Harry becoming something beyond their imagination.

Severus sighed as he didn't find a way to run away from the delicate dilemma. He was obligated to act but there was something else he didn't understand. The obvious guilt and urgency in Dumbledore's voice made him think and ask a few questions of his own. But this time he wanted to clear out everything before getting involved further.

"Albus, I'll think about your suggestions but I need the honest answers. No more surprises. Is that fine with you? "

"Sure, ask anything." Dumbledore definitely looked relieved.

This caused Severus to eye Dumbledore suspiciously before asking his first question. "What happened overnight that made you presume a Slytherin like me is better than Sirius, Lupin or even Megan to take care of Harry? Don't you fear that I might teach him few of my own inventions and corrupt his golden heart with darkness?"

"Severus, as I always say the magic cannot be dark or light, it's the intention of the user that makes it good or bad. Fortunately I trust you as well as Harry to use any kind of magic for good reason. It also partially explains why I'm interested in you being Harry's mentor instead of Sirius, Lupin, the Weasleys or anyone else who cares for Harry. I know they are good people but I think Harry needs someone who shouldn't have a restricted view about being affiliated with a certain kind of magic."

Severus was puzzled by Dumbledore's stream of thoughts. "Albus, I don't understand what you are talking about."

Dumbledore looked gravely at Severus. "Do you remember how Harry or more correctly his scar reacts whenever he comes across Tom?"

"I never witnessed such an incident personally but I believe it has to be painful and violent.

"Yes, that's correct. And do you know why Harry has to experience it every now and then? "

"I don't have any idea." Severus replied honestly but deep inside he knew the answer had to be something ominous.

"Nearly fourteen years ago on the Halloween night when Tom attacked Harry he gave him the scar. I myself saw it for the first time while transferring Harry in Petunia's care. But back then I didn't realized its significance until an eleven year old Harry told me his scar always prickled painfully when Quirrell was around. Later it was discovered that it was Tom hiding under Quirrell's turban. The incident helped me to come up with a hypothesis but to confirm it I waited to get a few more evidences. And as expected it happened again in second year and then last year in the graveyard when Harry was captured by Tom." Dumbledore paused as the memory of the dreadful night where Harry came clutching Cedric's dead body flashed in front of him.

Severus too remembered the dark night when the serpent on his wrist had flared to life. He remembered the waves of searing pain that kept coming until he was ordered by Dumbledore to join the dark lord.

"Severus it's unfortunate but all evidences suggested only one fact, fourteen years ago unknowingly Tom had created a link with Harry's mind through the scar."

The ominous words almost stopped Severus's heart. He stared at Dumbledore blankly hoping that what he just heard was a mistake but Dumbledore remained silent confirming everything he said was true. And then a cold fear ran through his veins as the implication dawned on him. "A link with dark lord ", he repeated the cursed words hopelessly as his own hand branded with the dark mark twitched reminding him of what kind of horrific servitude the link brought along.

Dumbledore waited patiently until Severus digested the devastating truth about Harry's scar and then added carefully. "Severus, it's different than your mark but yes Tom can use it to control Harry or worse to destroy his mind completely. And that's why I want you to teach Harry Occlumency before it's too late."

Until that moment Severus thought there was only one thing that linked Harry and Voldemort together, the damned prophecy. The one, he himself informed Voldemort about. And then Lily left him forever leaving behind her and James's son, Harry. A living reminder taunting Severus always about the unforgivable crimes he committed. And now he realized one of the grave consequences of those mistakes. Harry survived not with a simple scar but something terribly sinister, something that had the potential to drag him towards evil. And then it clicked to him. "And now I understand why you want me around Potter It's not only the Occlumency, but you want me as back up in case the Dark Lord, instead of killing Potter, decided to use him as an asset to change our future. And that's when you want me there to clean up Potter's insane or dark doings. You want me there as his Knight in shining armor. Isn't that correct, Albus." Severus demanded clearly disappointed.

"You are twisting my words Severus. We are just discussing some possibilities and precautions. What I want to make sure is no one takes advantage of a vulnerable Harry. And this link makes that easy."

"Or we can do something to sever this link." Severus suggested trying to find a way to escape what seems an eternal castigating commitment.

Dumbledore knew it was coming and was prepared to share the truth. "I was thinking of doing the same, but it seems quite difficult as the only way to disrupt the link is the death of either Tom or Harry."

"So Occlumency is the only way we have then?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"Yes, right now it is the only way I can see. So if it settles everything then allow me to inform Harry and Megan that they should expect your company from tomorrow." Dumbledore smiled with a relief.

But Severus wasn't amused. He was annoyed. "What about Black?" Severus snapped with loathing.

"No need to worry since Sirius and Remus are accompanying me today to take care of some unfinished business. To your ease I'm intending to use this opportunity to inform them about our discussion. Not about the scroll but at least about Harry needing Occlumency lessons. I know Sirius will understand the need."

"It better work, Albus." Severus replied absentmindedly as he remembered something else that was nagging him since he had the lunch with Harry and Megan.

"Is something bothering you?" Dumbledore asked gently observing Severus carefully.

"Yes, apart from our current discussion there are these two issues that we need to investigate."

"Go ahead." Dumbledore said noticing the genuine concern that filled Severus's eyes.

"I'm observing mild empathetic abilities in Megan. In my opinion we need to keep an eye on her until we fully understand her magical strengths. And the second issue that bothers me is the locket Potter mentioned. If you allow me I would like to help you in the investigation."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful after listening to Severus's concerns. "Severus, I must say it is an interesting development in Megan's case. There are very few empaths I know personally. And if your observations are correct then there are chances of Megan showing certain different abilities as well. But only time will tell us what those are. So in my opinion we need to be patient about her. Teach her what we can and wait until she identifies her own strength." Dumbledore paused until Severus nodded with understanding. And then he approached the second issue about the locket. "Severus, I assume Harry has told you everything about the locket that Miss Granger found in Kreacher's nest."

"Yes, he has. But the question why locket affected Potter remained unanswered. So I'm offering my help. "

"I really appreciate your offer Severus but I think I already know what this locket is. For now I'm safeguarding it as I don't want to alert Tom prematurely and make him hide the remaining items he had enchanted like this locket. I'm thinking of destroying them together. But before that we need to find the remaining."

"You mean there is more than one?" Severus asked with shock. "What are they Albus? And how you are supposed to find them? "

"It is my guess but there should be at least four to five and they can be anything like an ordinary book or something extraordinary like a priceless locket. I always praised Tom for his talent and creativity but unfortunately for him he left a trail of a few valuable witnesses who provided me with the important memories which I'm using to find out the whereabouts of those items. So what I'm thinking is if possible you should accompany me to find next one."

"A wise decision Albus. So when we are visiting this place?"

"I think day after tomorrow will be fine but let me know if something comes on your end."

"Hmm, I'm fine with it."

"That's perfect then." Dumbledore said eying the hourglass kept on the mantle. He knew it was time to leave and do what he should have done fourteen years ago. "Severus, if that's all then I must leave and visit the ministry to make few important arrangements."

"Sure, you do that and I'll make sure Pettigrew will be present for the trial."

A minute later both wizards parted ways to begin something that would bring a long awaited freedom for the wizard named, Sirius Black.

******VVVVVVV******

AN: Dear readers, thank you for waiting patiently. I hope you will enjoy this chapter.


	15. Conclusions

**CHAPTER 15**

 **CONCLUSIONS**

"Hermione, are you in there? " asked Harry knocking on the closed door.

The door opened immediately and Hermione let her friends in.

"Thanks for bringing them up Ginny" Hermione grinned.

"Sure" replied Ginny taking seat on her bed. "I guess you finally found something important to share with us." She added as her eyes found a huge pile of documents scattered all over the corner table.

"Bloody hell, sweared Ron looking at the mound of papers too, she better have something to share now because it has been four days since she has been hiding in that library, Merlin knows doing what?" whinnied Ron.

"Hey, I wasn't hiding and if I remember correctly I did invite you all but you ran away at the prospect of sitting in the library with your nose buried in a book."

"But Hermione you have to agree that the library is dark and downright creepy, even Sirius hates it." Ron argued.

"Don't tell me about Sirius, he hates everything about this house .The library is perfectly fine except for a locked section that contains very old and dangerous looking books. Oh and I also saw Remus a few times in there searching for some basic text for Megan. He even helped me with some of my own research."

"Do you mean he knew that you were trying to find information about that Locket? You do know he talks to my parents, right?" Ron was horrified by the thought that Remus would tell everything to Mr. Weasley or worse to Mrs. Weasley.

"Don't worry Ron, I didn't tell him everything."

"What didn't you tell him?" asked Harry and Ginny in unison.

"Like I found Regulus's research on You-know-who and also found his copy of Nature's Nobility with some text highlighted. You are not going to believe the exciting discoveries I made reading this super heavy book. I found out the ancient roots of your family, Harry's, Nevil's and many more including the Blacks, Malfoys, Bones, etc. It's unbelievable but in some way or another you are all related. For example, Draco is Sirius's cousin once removed and if I'm not wrong Ron's grandma was a member of the Black family." She gave Ron a sympathetic smile and continued. "Oh, and that's not the end because I also found some interesting and ancient family names such as Binns, Princes, Malcolm, McGonagall, Dumbledore and Peverells." Hermione paused suddenly and stared at Harry knowing that, unlike Ron, Harry would be grateful if he knew about his ancestors. "Harry, the Peverells are your ancestors. Actually the book said there were three Peverell brothers Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus. The Potters have descended from Ignotus Peverell, the third brother."

"Wow, that's really something Hermione." Harry was overwhelmed by the unexpected information.

"Yes you're right, but there is something else that was troubling me."

"You mean in Nobel's Nobility?" asked Ron curiously.

"Not in the book but in the list of decedents that continued Cadmus Peverell's line. Actually there are many names as well as questionable blank spaces in this tree line but my interest heightened when I found something scribbled but almost smudged around a name. It was Gaunt. Don't know why but I've inkling that Regulus knew something very important about this family. And here I took Remus's help, not directly but asked him if he knew any magnifying and text clarifying spell and guess what, to my surprise he taught me one without any doubt. I used this spell as soon as he left the library and got this." She removed a paper bearing two drawing from the corner table and showed to her friends.

"What's this?"asked Ron curiously pointing at drawing of triangle enclosing a circle and a straight line. He ignored the second drawing that obviously depicted a locket pendent.

"I don't know what is it but it was drawn along with sketch of locket which you can see here. And that proves my theory about Gaunts that they had Slytherin's Locket and Regulus knew it somehow."

"Hey, slow down a bit Hermione, it's already confusing. May be you should first tell us about the locket which you seem to know a lot about," Harry insisted remembering the mysterious talk she had with Dumbledore few days ago.

"Yah, that's really necessary Hermione," suggested Ginny impatiently.

"Fine," Hermione replied irritably. She collected a bunch of parchments along with a very thick and old copy of Nature's Nobility and sat herself next to Harry.

"Harry, do you remember last year after the first task we were searching library for some spell books?"

"Yeah, I remember that crazy time and I also remember how I tried to avoid Romilda Vain" added Harry with grin.

"Harry, that's not what I was talking about" Hermione chastised. "My point is during that time I found a book in the defense section, hidden in upper most shelf. I took it on instinct but surprisingly the content of the book puzzled me. The book had nothing to do with defense because it was focused solely on the history of the Hogwarts founders. Which now l think was one of the reference books used by the writers to create 'Hogwarts: A History'."

"Right 'Hogwarts: A History', how could I forget!" Ron quipped sarcastically.

"Shut up Ron, let her finish first." Ginny snapped abruptly.

Hermione smiled and continued. "So what I was saying is our four founders were friends at least at the beginning, they had families and children and basically were rich people. Surprisingly they had a very good relationship with centaurs, elves and also with goblins. So when those four friends decided to build up the Hogwarts everyone else helped. The goblins even thought that establishing Hogwarts was noble work and therefore as token of their gratitude they gave the founders four special gifts each representing a quality, They gave a Sword to Gryffindor as a symbol of bravery, they gave Ravenclaw a Tiara as a symbol of Wisdom; to Hufflepuff they gave a Cup for her humbleness and to Salazar Slytherin they gave a Locket, the one that we found in Kreacher's nest. The book did have some sketches of all these four items but for some reason it did not mention what exactly the locket represents."

"May be it is a symbol of darkness" Ron commented.

"I think it's for their ability to remain dormant. We have seen the locket, the Snake is literally inside the stone like growing and waiting for the correct time" Harry tried but he was cut short by Ron.

"Which is nothing but sneaky!"

"No, that's not true. You both are just saying that because you hate all Slytherins equally. The emerald stone could represent a heart, a very tough one." Hermione tried to sound reasonable but failed miserably.

"Oh, common Hermione, I think Ron and Harry have point there. May be these objects are meant to represent the four founders with all honesty. May be like every other Slytherin, Salazar was proud of being sneaky and ambitious. It's just that we Gryffindors don't understand it."

"I didn't know my little sister was so wise."

Ginny answered back with a glare. "Remember, I had a slytherin in my head."

"Right, I forgot." Ron looked apologetically at his sister as the terrifying events of second year flashed in front of him.

"Ginny, we really are sorry for what happened with you" said Hermione with sympathy.

"It's okay Hermione. That happened a long time ago and you all helped me to recover from it. So I'm really fine and ready to face whatever is waiting for me." Ginny explained trying to hide her dislike for the topic just as much as their sympathy. Changing the topic she said "So evil or not Salazar Slytherin was a great and clever wizard." throwing another glare at Ron.

"Yeah, the great wizard who hated muggleborns and built a chamber for his monster" added Ron with a grin causing Ginny and Hermione to huff with irritation.

"Okay, enough of this" interjected Hermione. " So, according to this book, when all founders died the four objects were passed on from one generation to the next until at some point over the time they all went missing. And that was all, the book ends there. It missed the twist in events. It missed the fact that somehow Gryffindor's Sword remained at Hogwarts and Slytherin's locket ended up in you-know-who's hand. And this is where I think the Gaunts come in to picture. But there was very little written about this family. The last member was Marvolo Gaunt who had a son named Morfin and a daughter named Merope who had a question mark on her husband and son's name. What really puzzles is why Gaunts had possetion of Salazar Slytherin's locket. I mean I didn't find Salazar's family tree anywhere in Nature's Nobility"

Hermione's enthusiasm declined as she found it difficult to solve the mysterious connection between Gaunt, the locket and Salazar Slytherin. But luckily Harry remembered something helpful.

"Hermione, Marvolo is Voldemort's middle name. In second year, in the chamber he told me how he derived his current name from the original Tom Morvolo Riddle. How could you forget, I mean we talked about the diary and everything that happened in the chamber."

Hermione looked embarrassed for forgetting something this important. "I'm sorry Harry. I don't know how it slipped my mind. "

"Don't beat up yourself Hermione. It happens with me all the time." Ron tried to be supportive.

Hermione smiled but it faltered as soon as Ginny asked doubtfully, "Are you sure, it was the only Marvolo you know about , because if not then that makes you and Tom Riddle some type of cousins many times removed. Oh and also a relative of Salazar Slytherin through Tom."

"Ginny are you out of your mind? That sounds terrible" argued Ron. He didn't like the idea of Harry being related with any Slytherin let alone Tom Riddle or Salazar Slytherin, the two darkest wizards ever born.

"Ron, Ginny is talking about possibilities. I know for sure this Marvolo was Voldemort's maternal grandfather. I didn't mention this before, back in the chamber Voldemort said he hated his real name but in the graveyard, after his resurrection, he explained why. His father was Tom Riddle Sr. who never loved magic or his mother. As a result she died just after giving birth and a name to Voldemort and then he lived as an orphan. He hated his father so much that when the time came he killed him."

"That's awful" said Hermione with horror.

"Yeah that's downright cruel but a father ignoring wife and his own child? That too is not right" argued Ginny.

"Ginny don't be so sentimental, it's You-Know-Who we are talking about." Ron preferred to stick with his bad Slytherin philosophy.

Hermione intervened just before Ginny could throw a nasty retort. "Hey, don't fight over something we aren't sure about. Save your energy and please try to focus on Slytherin's locket" urged Hermione."

A minute passed in silence as everyone tried to remember what the last thing Hermione said about locket was.

Ron brought the conversation back on track, "The sword remains at Hogwarts and that's why Dumbledore was able to give it to Harry to finish off Riddle's basilisk and then the diary" Ron said thoughtfully. But there was something else about those items that were nagging his mind. He looked at Ginny and decided to ask.

"Ginny, the diary we are talking about was belonged to Tom Riddle, the younger self of You-Know-Who, didn't it. And during that entire year he was using you to do some horrible things by being in your head. Am I right?"

Harry didn't like the way the conversation was heading but held his tongue knowing there had to be a sound reason behind Ron's questions. He looked at Ginny but she avoided his gaze and faced Ron's out-of-the-blue question.

"Yes, but why the sudden questions. What are you getting at Ron? "

"I just want to know if you could try to think like You-Know-Who? I mean you know him better in a much different way than Harry or any of us do."

Hermione was shocked to hear something that she herself failed to think. And now she really wanted to know Ginny's response.

"It was embarrassing but I remember pouring my feelings in that diary for hours. He didn't write back in the beginning but then suddenly he started to share his own thoughts and feelings with me. He charmed me with his smart, carefree and funny nature. I didn't understand when it happened but we became friends. After some time he promised to teach me a few really useful spells but to make that happen he told me that he need to enter my head which freaked me out and thus I denied. But one day he surprised me by entering my head. I didn't feel any pain or anything at all. Once in, he kept his promise of teaching me a few but very useful charms and defense spells. And that made me so happy that I forgot that he was still in my head. One day I realized my mistake and asked him to leave but he ignored me and from then on everything went downhill."

Ginny stopped as a shiver ran down her spine. When she looked up she found everyone looking at her with sadness and she didn't liked at all. So to prove them wrong she defiantly pulled herself together and faced Ron to finish what she never dared to share with anyone. "But during all this time I did learn a few things about him like he had an endless hunger for power. He seemed ambitious, cruel and ruthless. He also had an uncanny ability to plan and predict the alternate possibilities of someone's actions. There is something else I didn't give much attention to until today." Ginny stared at Harry feeling guilty for not telling him something that she knew about Voldemort for more than two years.

Harry stared back realizing for the first time that whatever he felt last night after that suffocating nightmare was wrong. He wasn't the only one who had a cursed life haunted by Voldemort. There were people like Ginny who also had their own Voldemort to face and he couldn't blame her for trying to forget the horrors she had gone through. "Ginny, it's okay. Don't feel guilty for anything. "

Ginny's eyes widened as she realized Harry hadn't spoken out loud. She had heard him inside her head. "Harry, did you just say something?"

"Yes, I said, don't feel guilty for anything" Harry repeated confused.

"No you didn't. I heard you in my head before you said it out loud." Ginny answered still in shock.

"Really, but how?" Ron asked eying Harry doubtfully.

"I don't know, she stared at me and I knew what she was thinking." He looked at Hermione for help but she looked clueless. "I thought I said it out loud." He said guiltily.

"Harry, that's creepy mate. You reminded me of Snape." Ron readily gave his inputs which irked Hermione.

"Ron, don't judge before you know what it is. Remember the last time when we realized Harry is Parseltongue. We almost freaked him out. But at the end he used that skill to save Ginny's life. So please don't be so judgmental. Anyway right now we don't need another distraction."

"Yes, I think Hermione is right. We should finish this first. So where was I?" said Ginny gathering threads of her story.

"At the end when I realized who he was I threatened him. I told him Dumbledore and Harry would kill him if they found out. But he simply laughed and bragged about how he conquered his most terrified fear, the fear of his own death. He never thought I would be alive to understand or tell anyone his most protected achievement. That he had found a way to become immortal."

"No? That can't be possible! That's ridiculous" argued Ron.

"No, it isn't Ron. In fact it is a valid reason as to how he survived and remained capable of possessing Quirrel in our first year. I remember Dumbledore telling me that he wasn't dead. He was just there hanging in some kind limbo and would return to power one day. Till then it was our duty to fight and delay that return."

"So correct me if I'm wrong Harry. Fifteen years ago You-Know-Who reached the height of his power; he established his control all over the magical community. Then something happened so he attacked your family and when tried to kill you, you banished him somehow but instead of dying he remained bodiless in some kind of limbo. And now he has returned with his body and powers to never get killed again."

"Yes, that's exactly what happened" said Harry hopelessly.

"But you both are missing one point here" said Hermione. There was a glint in her eyes when she turned to Ginny and asked "What was the age of the Tom you met in this Diary?"

"He was still in his Hogwarts robes with the Head boy badge" answered Ginny.

"So it makes him seventeen or maybe eighteen but nonetheless he already had his immortality, correct? Then the question remains is how and why he lost his body when he attacked Harry. I bet something went wrong with his immortality. He made a mistake that he wasn't aware of or baby Harry found a loophole to simply defeat him. This proves that Tom's immortality is not foolproof. We just need to find a way to break it" explained Hermione eagerly. Smiling, she looked at Harry and said. "I know it's stupid to ask you Harry but is there any chance that you still remember how exactly you banished Tom for the first time."

"Hermione that's impossible" Harry replied the moment he heard her. "What you are ignoring is that I never actually defeated or killed Voldemort, it was my mother. She sacrificed her own life to save mine and that act gave me some kind of blood protection. So when Voldemort tried to kill me this protection saved me but destroyed him. "

This new fact surprised all three of them. But it was Ron who recovered first to say anything. "Harry, that's really terrible mate but what your mother did was brave. If she hadn't done that I don't know what horrible future would have befallen us."

"Yes, Ron is correct. I can't imagine living in a world ruled by some maniac." Hermione shivered as she poured out her thoughts. But then she felt a warm hand squeezing her own, giving her assurance that he wouldn't let it happened. She didn't know how it worked but Harry's touch made her feel better. It instantly dragged her out of her horrible thoughts. So when she focused she found herself looking into a pair of emerald eyes that held a promise for a better and safe future.

"Hermione are you okay?" Ron finally found his voice.

"I'm fine Ron." Hermione nodded with a small smile. Relieved, Ron looked at Harry and said "Harry, we agree your mother is the reason you or we lived to see each other but that doesn't mean you did nothing. You faced that lunatic at least three and I'm sure nothing is going to stop you doing the same in the future."

"I don't know, but the last three times I got lucky and you all were there to help me and again there was my mother's magic but now everything has been changing Ron. In the graveyard Pettigrew took my blood to resurrect Voldemort making him immune to my mother's magic. Now we both share her blood."

"That sounds dangerous Harry. Does Dumbledore know this?" Ginny asked with panic.

"Yes, of course I told him everything but he explained nothing in return."

Ron didn't miss the frustration in Harry's tone. He knew it wasn't that easy but he still wanted to help. He looked at Ginny and realized there was still a chance of her knowing something else about Voldemort. So without any warning he asked. "Ginny, what if this locket has something to do with You-Know-Who achieving the immortality. I mean look at the efforts he put in in trying to hide it. I bet he didn't do that just because the locket belonged to Salazar Slytherin. "

Harry and Ginny didn't understand the logic but Hermione did. "Ron you are a genius!" Hermione squealed with joy. "Whatever you just said makes sense. It also means it is possible to destroy him. So now what we have to do is simply find out how many such objects he had made and a way destroy them"

"But Hermione how you are so sure that there is more than one" Harry interrupted Hermione's optimistic thoughts. "How is that even possible? And if they exist we don't know where to find them. And most importantly, if we succeed in finding them we don't know how to destroy them. What if they are indestructible or have some kind of forbidden dark magic."

Harry's stream of thoughts triggered something in Ginny's head. She smirked as she realized the word 'forbidden magic' itself defines the very nature of Voldemort. And she didn't need anyone to prove that because she had a firsthand experience of witnessing what Voldemort was capable of. "Harry, I think Hermione is right. You already had destroyed one."

"What are you taking about Ginny? You both sound delusional" Ron said quietly trying not to look at Hermione.

Ginny could feel it in her bones that now was her moment to contribute something that might help in Voldemort's downfall. "Because I think I know the second item that definitely belonged to You-Know-Who."

Harry was the first to realize what Ginny was talking about.

"Ron it has to Diary; Harry destroyed it with the sword." Ginny sounded excited.

"Diary" Hermione repeated the words trying to remember what she knew about the wretched diary.

"But how are you so sure that this diary was similar to locket?" Ron looked unconvinced.

Ginny rolled her eyes as Ron's obtuseness. She opened her mouth to add an insult but Harry interrupted her on time explaining the remaining part of the story on which her conclusion was based. "Because to Riddle's surprise and dismay when I stabbed the diary with the Basilisk fang, not with the sword, the diary began to bleed until the ghostly form of Tom Riddle feeding on Ginny's soul vanished in agony." He looked at Ron to add, "You know I didn't realize it until Ginny pointed it out. I remember there was a similarity between both items." Harry paused as he tried to compare his very fresh memory of being around the locket with the older memory in which he was asking the diary about the opening of the chamber fifty years ago. A little focus and he found the perfect words to describe the connection. "I felt something very subtle but foul almost repulsive about them. They definitely seemed imbibed with a similar kind of dark magic."

"But I didn't felt anything different. To me it was simply a few centuries old locket and nothing else." Hermione looked at Ron and asked. "Did you feel something when you were holding it?"

"Umm, I guess I didn't" Ron answered sincerely but he looked more puzzled than he was before.

Hermione ignored Ron as something else began to shape up in her mind. She glanced at Ginny first and then towards Harry and said "let's consider that you are both correct, that the Diary and the Locket have something to do with Tom's achieving immortality then there has to be at least two more items we should be searching for?"

"And what are they?" Harry asked clueless.

Now it was Hermione's turn to stare exasperatedly. "Harry, it's obviously Hufflepuff's cup and Ravenclaw's Tiara. Because like Slytherin's locket they were considered lost and no one has bothered to look for them."

Hermione paused until everyone understood what she was saying and then she continued. "And once we find them we should destroy them the way Harry destroyed the Diary." She turned towards Harry to add, "I hope you still know how to open the chamber. I think it would be a good idea for us too to learn a few useful words in Parseltongue."

"That's an excellent idea Hermione." Harry was quite thrilled by the idea. "You did miss the trip the last time." Harry's grin faltered as he remembered something else. "Do you think Dumbledore will let us borrow Fawkes without getting suspicious?"

"Why not." said Ron with grin. "He was the one who had sent Fawkes to your aid. You know sometimes I get the feeling that instead of stopping us he always wants us to go on those insane adventures. Even my mother thinks he is going all nuts in his old age."

"I agree on this Ron" Hermione added seriously. "If my parents ever found out what kind of adventurous education we get here I'm sure they won't blink an eye before making me move to Australia."

"Really? Who lives there? "Ginny asked intrigued.

"Let see. My great uncle, his two sons, a daughter and their respective families plus one of my parent's doctor friend lives somewhere near Melbourne."

"Wow that's great." Ginny seemed excited to know more. "Do you think they have something like Hogwarts or Diagonally there?"

"Yes, of course they do. And do you know how I got the information?" Hermione looked downright thrilled to talk about her relatives in Australia. "It turned out like my parents the family of my second cousin was hiding the fact that her children were magical. This summer while I was chatting with one of her daughters named Stacy I casually mentioned Harry Potter studying in my class and she freaked out so much that it took her half an hour to calm down. And then we explained everything to each other and our families. It was a crazy week as she and the other cousins didn't stopped asking about you. They wanted to... "

The knock on the door distracted everyone. A moment passed and Megan entered. "Molly told me you all are here."

"How did she know? I mean I specifically told her Harry and I'll be in the library while Hermione will be in the study helping Ginny finish her homework." Ron frowned.

"Because she is your mother and knows you and your friends better than you think" answered Megan.

"Or maybe she knew how much you and Harry love to spend time in the library" remarked Hermione sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up" Ron growled with embarrassment.

While listening to their banter Megan took a look around. She was quite impressed by the number of parchments and a huge book sprawled open near Hermione. She remembered last night after her charms lesson how Remus warned her not to underestimate any of the children she was surrounded by in that house. But what unhinged her most was the story in which Harry and Hermione along with a Hippogriff helped Sirius escape a horrible death delivered by the ministry Dementors. Sirius felt proud for his godson, but Remus thought it was reckless behavior. And so he cautioned Megan to remain alert whenever she found Harry along with his friends having some secret discussion which she was kind of witnessing at that moment. She quenched her inquisitiveness to find out more about their ongoing discussions. "Okay, guys I'm really sorry for interrupting whatever you are doing here but Dumbledore is here and he wants me to fetch Harry."

"What for" Harry asked immediately vacating his seat on the bed. "I mean did he tell you something?"

"Not exactly, I just know he wants to see Sirius, you and me together. Oh and Remus is joining us too." She answered.

Harry glanced at his friends for a possible suggestion but they just shrugged and stared at each other.

"Okay, see you later then" said Harry simply and left the room with Megan thinking about what Dumbledore wanted now. He thought about few possibilities but all those evaporated when he entered the study and saw a fuming Sirius and a thoughtful Remus sitting across a very calm looking Albus Dumbledore.

"Harry my boy! Thank you for joining us." Dumbledore said distracting Sirius for the moment.

Dumbledore waited until Harry and Megan took seats opposite to him. He looked eager to finish whatever he had gone there for.

"Harry, I've a proposition for you" the old wizard began. "But before you make any decision I want you to trust me that I'm doing this to keep you and everyone around you safe."

"Albus, that's ridiculous. You can't say that to Harry." Sirius gritted his teeth.

"Sirius, let him finish first" Remus said quietly but no one missed the way his eyes glinted golden. Even Megan saw it but decided she should ask about it later.

"Harry, I think you know already that the scar you have on your forehead is not an ordinary scar." Dumbledore stared at Harry through his half moon glasses.

"Yes, I guess it's related to Voldemort." Harry felt a shiver run through his veins as he gave the perfectly fitted explanation.

"In a way you are correct Harry but that is not the complete explanation. What I think is you must learn certain collateral effects of having this scar." This time he looked at Megan and said, "Lily's sacrifice succeeded in protecting Harry from the killing curse cast by Voldemort but something else happened that night. Somehow he established a link with Harry's mind through this scar." He once again set his eyes on Harry and revealed the terrible truth. "I fear Voldemort will stop at nothing to use this link to control your mind for his own benefits Harry."

Harry didn't know how to react. He just stared at Dumbledore sitting there and rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans. He didn't feel any fear. He rather felt relieved to know the truth that he already suspected to exist.

"Harry, please say something." Sirius seemed ready to bolt from his seat if Harry decided to freak out.

But Harry wasn't there to respond to a panicked Sirius or Megan. He had gone far away to feel the frozen moment where he was pointing his wand towards a sleeping Ron, thinking of punishing him with a forbidden curse. He could still feel that hatred. He still felt the taste of power that he possessed in that moment. And then he heard the hauntingly familiar inhuman laugh. Cold sweat trickled on his neck as the thought of what would have happened if Hedwig hadn't intervened at the right time crossed his mind. And that made him apprehend the real terror of being controlled by Voldemort. The deranged thought of burdening his loved one with death and destruction made him sick to the core. He felt an uncontrollable yearning to hide somewhere in order to keep everyone away and safe from getting hurt at his hands.

Unknown to Harry the despair he was clutching inside wasn't just there anymore. It was leaking in the atmosphere surrounding him and the others. In a fraction of seconds the room darkened like a gloomy day of rainy season. The air became heavy and very still. Everyone including Megan sensed the walls of the room vibrate. And then they saw something dark oozing through the walls. It was a thick black fog like substance with many tentacles.

"Albus, what is happening to him? Do something." Sirius's voice cut through the air as he dashed towards Harry. But Megan got to him first. Without any thought her motherly instincts kicked in and she engulfed Harry in a tight embrace. She began rocking back and forth trying to concentrate on Harry's emotions. What she found baffled her. She felt Harry's mind was flooding with guilt and fear. There was nothing but hopelessness. For a moment Megan didn't know what to do, how to drag Harry out of his unusual stupor and stop him doing whatever he was doing with the black stuff that was very slowly approaching them.

From the corner of her eyes she saw Dumbledore and Remus removing their wands and aiming towards the walls.

"Megan, try to remember your happiest memories. Think about the family and friends who never stopped loving you. Use your empathetic abilities to calm his mind" Dumbledore ordered as he remembered Severus's words about Megan.

"What?" asked Megan in confusion. And then suddenly she understood what Dumbledore meant.

She tightened her hold on Harry and began thinking about memories that brought happiness to her life. She remembered her mother, father and the happiness she found with them. She remembered the moments when they loved her, supported her. And that's what she wanted to do for Harry. She wanted to absorb all his sorrow and give him the love that Lily could have given him.

Megan didn't realize but her own emotions had begun to reach out to Harry's. She filled Harry's mind with her own happiness. And that did the rest.

The enchanted cocoon of his despair began to crack. Harry felt a feather like presence reaching out for him, uplifting the burden of guilt and fear from his soul. It brought him brightness he never thought he would ever see again. It gave him the strength to face his demon, to prepare his mind to do whatever would be necessary to stop Voldemort from hurting the people he had come to love.

Suddenly as it started, it ebbed away. The room brightened up again forcing the darkness to retreat and hide where it came from. A moment passed and Harry resurfaced with a loud gasp only to found himself in Megan's arm.

Megan immediately sensed the change but didn't release Harry from her embrace. She extended the moment as long as possible.

"Look he's stirring", said Sirius stroking Harry on his back. "Megan whatever you did have worked." He felt grateful for the woman that strongly reminded him of Lily.

Remus and Dumbledore hurried towards Harry. They too felt relieved as Harry struggled to free himself from Megan's arm.

"What happened?" He asked when he saw the look of concern on everyone's face.

"I think Sirius was correct when he said it might be a premature decision to tell you the truth about the link that you share with Voldemort." Dumbledore expressed his regret. "You showed some accidental magic and I'm really sorry about it."

"Professor, don't be sorry" Harry looked determined "You are correct and I really should know about everything. I don't want to hurt anyone because I have some stupid link with Voldemort. And if that means I need to stay away from everyone, I'm fine with it."

"Harry, what are you talking about? You are thinking too much." Megan was surprised by Harry's modest attitude. She looked at Dumbledore for help which of course he provided as it was the reason he was there for.

"Harry, my boy Megan is correct. No need to think about such extreme measures when I know the perfect solution."

Harry's eyes sparkled with hope. "Really, what is it?"

And that was the reason Sirius got angry in the first place.

"But Harry it won't be that easy." Dumbledore became serious. "The skill I'm talking about is Occlumency, a difficult art of mind magic used to obstruct someone from entering your mind. To learn it you will need a strong will power to control your thoughts and there by your entire mind. But once you achieve it I'm sure Voldemort will find it difficult to influence your mind."

"Okay, then I'll do my best to learn it. So when we are starting it?" Harry was enthusiastic to learn something new especially when he had plenty of free time.

"Harry" said Dumbledore cautiously. He could see the effort Sirius was making to control his annoyance. "I'm afraid to tell you this but there are certain reasons I will not be teaching you the Occlumency."

"Then who?" Harry tried to think a name but nothing came up.

"It will be Professor Snape." Dumbledore made himself ready for a blow and it came as Sirius predicted.

"NO, NOT HIM!" Harry couldn't stop himself. "I've seen him enough for this summer. He is an obnoxious git and he hates me. So that's not happening."

"No he doesn't hate you. Like everyone else he wants you to be safe, it's just different when it comes to Severus. You can't deny the fact that lately you both are getting along quite well. May be it was the reason he seemed worried when I told him about you needing Occlumency lessons. He even agreed to come here and teach you."

Harry sighed as he realized he was being childishly obstinate only because he wasn't sure anymore about his own sentiments towards Snape. His mind was still revolving around the Elixir induced visions where he was part of Megan and Snape's family. And no doubts those thoughts were making him crazy with each passing day. In simple words he just wanted to get over with those confusing thoughts by simply keeping his distance from Snape. But apparently his fate had decided something else.

"Harry, he is waiting" Megan whispered under the pretext of checking if he was going through another shock.

"Sorry, I... I was trying to digest the idea. You know it is difficult." He replied with dread. "But I guess I don't have a choice."

"Thank you Harry. I'm really happy that you have made the correct decision." Dumbledore felt relieved for getting the hardest part of his task done. "And if everything goes fine, Professor Snape will be here tomorrow."

A pause and then the old wizard caught Harry's eye to say, "Harry always remember one thing, whatever happens from here on, you will never stop trusting Professor Snape."

"I….." Harry hesitated. "I'll try only if he stops tormenting me at school" Harry tried to work out a deal.

"That will do for now." Dumbledore gave gentle smile thinking about his next equally important visit of that day.

Meanwhile Harry sneaked a glance at Sirius expecting him to look disappointed. But what he saw surprised him. Sirius looked thoughtful.

"Harry, don't give me that look. What you saw when you came here was me being immature. To be frank hating Snape is like a reflex action. But I think Dumbledore is right. If Snape is doing this in order to protect you from Voldemort then I should welcome the idea of Snape teaching you."

"Wow! I mean, you really don't mind if I took his help in Occlumency, Potions or anything else?" Harry asked thinking about the talk he had with Snape about Peter Pettigrew.

"No I won't, unless you start following his hair and dressing style."

"And I promise that won't be happening ever" replied Harry with a grin.

Dumbledore hated to interrupt the joyous moment but he didn't have any options as there was another pressing matter to take care off. "Sirius if you can spare a few hours today I want you to come with me to visit Ms. McKinnon."

Sirius froze as he heard the name. It was unexpected but he found himself getting excited as well as nervous by the idea of seeing Marlene once again after a gap of almost fourteen years.

Dumbledore understood the dilemma Sirius was facing but fortunately he had a solution for that too. "Sirius, I think it would be a wonderful idea if Remus and Megan also accompany us. It's surprising but Ms. McKinnon already knows Megan. It's a good thing because Ms. McKinnon will find it easy to trust her knowing Harry lives with her."

"Should I come too?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No, that will not be necessary." Dumbledore suggested. "I recommend instead of coming with us you indulge yourself in reading some books on self meditation or mind magic. I know Sirius's library has few of them. "

Harry opened his mouth to protest but Megan stopped him, "Harry you know he is right. There is no point in stalling something unavoidable. So think and do as he says. "

Harry felt betrayed by Megan but gave in. "Fine, I'll do that."

"We better be leaving now. I remember keeping her address somewhere..." Dumbledore flicked his wand and a parchment zoomed out from his robe pocket which he caught instantly. "Ah.. Here it is. Ms. Lena McKnight,16, Park Street, St. Albans. I hope her fireplace is connected to the floo network."

"Albus" Sirius said remembering something "I forgot to give Kreacher the gold for some grocery shopping. I told him to wait in the kitchen. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that Sirius left the room.

"Professor is it okay if I bring some of my property related paperwork to show Marlene."

"Sure, that will be fine." Dumbledore replied still reading the parchment in his hand.

Harry found it the perfect moment to escape and join his friends once again."Remus, good luck and say hi Lena for me." And then he left which represented a perfect opportunity for Remus to ask something that was bothering him quite for some time.

"Albus, was Severus the one who brewed the healing elixir for Megan?"

It was on occasions like this that Dumbledore felt proud and praised Remus for his brilliance and patience. "Yes, he was the brewer and I must say he did an excellent job."

"But that also means he was the magical blood donor along with Harry." Remus stared intently at his old teacher. "Albus, but what about the side effects? There has to be some kind of bond between three of them. And what worries me is how Harry will react when he will understand it."

"Remus I think he already knows about it. Right now he is just confused and waiting to resolve things himself. But I'm afraid he will soon realize that isn't easy."

"That's what I was sensing too. In my opinion in the long run it will be good for Harry to rely on someone who actually cares for him." Remus paused as he heard the sound of running footsteps on the floor above their heads. He cranked his neck to hear those sounds clearly. But continued when realized it had to be Fred and George working on something new. "I know Sirius meant to be there for Harry but I also know he alone won't be enough to handle Harry. And now it is pretty clear that he have to be there for Marlene and her daughter. I don't want to see him torn between two different responsibilities." Remus sighed as he approached the end of their conversation. "And that's not the only concern I have Albus. I don't know if you just decided to ignore it or saved it to discuss later but didn't you see what kind of accidental magic Harry just did."

"I've my suspicions but do explain." Dumbledore waited silently.

"Albus, as a werewolf I know when something very dark and forbidden crosses its own plane and forces its entry in our world. Somehow Harry was trying to open those planes. I saw it Albus and it terrified me. The darkness was responding to his magic, it was attracted towards him."

Dumbledore heard the panic filled warning but decided it would be better if they keep this knowledge between them.

"Remus, if it's not too much for you I would like you to visit my personal library and read as much as you can. I'm certain you will find certain information on this matter. And if it is necessary I've few old acquaintances we can..." Dumbledore stopped midsentence as he saw Megan along with Sirius approaching them.

He passed the parchment to Remus and waited until Sirius and Megan joined them.

"Megan, please follow me" said Dumbledore taking some floo powder and entering the hearth. "Give us at least an hour to clear a few details." He said to Sirius as an afterthought.

"Ms. Lena McKnight, 16, Park street, St. Albans'' And with that Dumbledore was whisked away with Megan only to appear in a pristine hearth situated in a study room of an equally beautiful house.

 **VVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

A.N. Thanks for waiting so patiently.


	16. Lesson Part 1

**Chapter 16**

 **Lesson Part 1**

" _Accio"_ Megan flicked her wand with all her concentration. A second later she caught the flying apple like an agile seeker.

"Nice catch Megan" Ginny clapped with smile. "You are definitely improving."

"Thanks dear. I wouldn't have been able to but for Molly and Remus. Harry is good too; in fact he was the one who taught me this summoning spell. Like Remus he has a great deal of patience for students like me" praised Megan looking at Harry who was sitting between Ron and Hermione.

"No. I didn't do anything. You are quick to learn, Megan." Harry replied modestly taking a bite of his toast.

"Really..? Fred asked in mock pretense. "In that case we accept her in our classes too. We also have some stuff to teach her if she is interested."

"How about today afternoon" Fred offered.

"NO, that's not happening." Mrs. Weasley warned. "I don't want to see her getting hurt by your silly pranks. And that's final." She glanced at Megan apologetically and asked "Megan, I'm thinking of visiting the Burrow, so I suggest you come with me. We could try some advanced spells."

"Sure, I would definitely love that. Remus has cancelled his lesson for me today, so I'm all yours."

"Did he?" Mr. Weasley asked taking a seat next to Mrs. Weasley. He filled his plate with toast and scrambled eggs. "I came in late last night but Molly told me Dumbledore was here and took the three of you to visit Marlene." Mr. Weasley looked pleased to hear about their visit. "So how did it go?" He asked expecting an answer from Sirius.

But Sirius didn't reply immediately. He busied himself in pushing his scrambled eggs around his plate. There was a heavy cloud of guilt hovering over his mind. He knew whatever was happening with him would change something between him and Harry which was unfair especially when he had just gotten the chance to take good care of Harry.

"Sirius, what's the matter." asked Mrs. Weasley kindly. She had been observing him all morning and knew something wasn't right. He was unusually silent.

"It's nothing" said Sirius trying to fix his melancholy looks.

But that didn't fool Megan. She already knew the reason behind Sirius's saddened mood. The dilemma he was facing was really painful and in a way it was happening because she decided to come here in the first place. And that by default made it her responsibility to save Sirius from this difficult conversation. So she intervened.

"Well, to avoid unnecessary panic Dumbledore suggested me to accompany him, which I did." Megan got a grateful look from Sirius.

"Once we arrived there we explained Lena aka Marlene about everything including how Dumbledore recognized her in my memories as well as what happened fourteen years ago that put Sirius in Azkaban." Megan paused as she caught Sirius's looking at Harry with a hollowed expression. This motivated her to add the good part of the visit. "And then Dumbledore took her consent to scan her mind which I didn't understand how he did but he found something that is kind of fixable. He even assured her there is a likelihood of restoring her memories but it will better if someone named Poppy would do through examination first. Oh and then Sirius met his daughter Rhea for the first time. It was quite awkward because she wasn't there when we explained that Sirius isn't a fugitive."

"Yeah that was quite awkward until Marlene used a body binding charm on her" explained Sirius with a weak smile. "I hope Marlene will get her memories back before it's too late." He tried to sound optimistic but it came out quite the opposite.

"Sirius, please have some faith. I know it's painful but now isn't the time to lose your hopes" said Mrs. Weasley kindly. "You have already suffered a lot. Maybe it is time you taste some happiness."

But that didn't cheer Sirius; he just sighed and played with his food. What he needed at that moment was a conversation with Harry.

"So, where did Remus go?" asked Molly changing the obviously awkward subject.

"Dumbledore gave him some sort of work to do. I hope he finishes it soon." Sirius answered passively.

"Hmm, that's curious" said Mr. Weasley remembering something. "Because last night on my way home I met Tonks and she told me that early in the morning when she had been to drop a basket of lemon tarts Andromeda made for Madam Bones, she saw Dumbledore there. She didn't hear everything but she could make out that it was something about a case involving Fudge."

"That's interesting" replied Sirius distracted from his churning thoughts. "I hope whatever he is plotting would knock some sense in that buffoon for a Minister."

"Is he that bad? I mean I've heard Harry and you talking about him but it seems absurd to think a man who represents the whole wizarding world would try to discredit Dumbledore or Harry. I'm surprised why he even thinks that Harry would lie about Voldemort's return."

"Because Fudge is stupid and thinks Dumbledore is trying to steal his power and glory" explained Mr. Weasley.

"So if Dumbledore is really plotting something with Madam Bones doesn't that mean this situation will soon change?" asked Hermione intrigued by topic.

"Anyway who is Madam Bones?" interrupted Megan inquisitively to which Sirius immediately replied. "Madam Amelia Bones is a pure blood witch respected for her fearless and unbiased nature. She is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement which makes her Tonks and Kingsley's boss. She also held a seat on the Wizengamot, the magical high court which gives her authority to keep an eye on people like Fudge, the Malfoys and many others who either fear or follow Voldemort" Sirius sneered the name with hatred. "She also respects Dumbledore's views and lends a hand whenever he needs her help."

"Oh, she seems pretty influential" said Megan.

"Yes, she is Megan" said Mr. Weasley. "And that reminds me I am supposed to discuss with you about the Ministry and other such important systems. So if you don't have any prior engagements I suggest we discuss it. This weekend after lunch sounds good." He suggested taking the last bite of scramble from his plate.

"Well, I don't know if Remus will be there or not. If he isn't then I'm okay with your plan."

"Hmm, let's see what happens then. Now, I must get going." With that Mr. Weasley got up from his seat, checked his robe pocket for something and then left.

Sirius followed Mr. Weasley's lead and excused himself from breakfast.

A few minutes later when everyone finished with breakfast a crack sounded and Kreacher appeared wearing a very clean tea towel. With a snap of his fingers he cleaned the dining table. Everyone looked baffled but the old elf ignored them and busied himself with his chores.

"Blimey! He really is weird" commented Ron with annoyance.

"Shh! Ron! He isn't. He is just helping and following Sirius's orders" said Mrs. Weasley getting out of her chair.

Hermione elbowed Ron as he stared unbelievingly at Kreacher. "Come on Ron, get up. I have something to tell you".

"Fine, let's go." He said stepping out of his seat. He looked at Harry for some clue but he shrugged and followed Hermione.

...

"Is Ginny coming?" asked Ron as soon as they were out of Mrs. Weasley's earshot.

"No, she isn't. She is going with Megan and Mrs. Weasley. And she already knows everything I'm going to tell you" informed Hermione entering the study. She took a seat around the center table. Ron and Harry did same.

"So what is it Hermione?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yesterday I visited Kreacher and asked him something" said Hermione.

"Yes?" Harry prompted.

"I asked him if he remembered Regulus doing something peculiarly different while he was doing his research on You-Know-Who. At first, Kreacher didn't understand so I asked him little differently."

"Really? And he responded to that?" asked Ron skeptically.

Hermione huffed to that. "Of course he didn't, until I assured him that it will be helpful in destroying the Locket."

"That's blackmail" teased Ron with a smirk.

"Yes, and I'm not proud of that." She replied in annoyance.

"That's okay Hermione" reasoned Harry. "So what did you ask him?"

"I asked him if Regulus was referring to a book or something for his research."

"What! A book? That's really classical Hermione" Ron looked disappointed.

This time Hermione ignored him. "To my surprise Kreacher nodded and said that Regulus was obsessed with a very dark book. He didn't remember the name but he described it as a very ancient and rare one."

"So where is this book now?" Harry asked hopefully.

Hermione looked uncomfortable. "Umm, you are not going to like this Harry."

Harry just stared at her and waited. "Regulus told Kreacher to deposit the book in his vault at Gringotts."

"And why is that problematic? I mean we can at least try to get it back."

"Only if we have a key Ron" said Harry with sigh.

"And that is the first problem" explained Hermione. "I don't know if there are other Black family members but as the elder brother, legally, Sirius became the owner of Regulus's vault. That means he is the one who can get the key and open the vault, which is quite impossible because the ministry is still hot on his trail."

"And we can't ask him because he will try to do exactly that which is risky and stupid" added Ron as he realized what Hermione was trying to suggest.

Harry too understood the difficulty. He knew that his godfather had been cooped up too long and would do anything to make himself useful regardless of the risk involved.

"No, we can't ask him to do that especially when he is finally getting a chance to live his life. I don't want to lose him for some stupid Locket."

"Which also means it's time we drop our search and do something else" she said staring at her friends.

They both nodded reluctantly.

"So what now?" Ron asked.

Hermione gave him a look and asked, "Did you finish your homework?"

Ron groaned as he saw Harry nod with a smile. "That's unfair mate. You know our ritual of finishing our homework on the train or after the welcome feast."

"No, not this time Ron. I was at Megan's and managed to finish it on time." Harry paused as he realized it was the best time he should be telling the entire truth. "Umm there is something else I want to tell you."

"What is it Harry?" Hermione looked concerned while Ron looked intrigued.

"Before I start you have to promise that you will try to understand before you react" said Harry directly looking at Ron.

"What is it?" Ron asked a little put out.

"Ron, just do as he says" chastised Hermione.

"Fine" Ron replied.

"Ron, starting from today Snape is coming over to teach me Occlumency."

"What! Are you nuts Harry" exclaimed Ron not even trying understand the meaning of Occlumency.

"Oh shut up Ron" Hermione interrupted. "You don't even know the word Occlumency. Let him explain first."

"Thanks Hermione" Harry felt grateful. "It's something that will help me to stop Voldemort getting in my head. Dumbledore told me it will be difficult but I need to master it as soon as possible."

"That's horrible Harry" Hermione looked horrified by the thought of Voldemort actually entering someone's mind, let alone Harry's. "You… you never mentioned this before."

Ron was beyond horrified he knew Harry's scar hurt whenever Voldemort was around but this was totally knew.

"I had a few nightmares at the beginning of last year. But they stopped suddenly. And now I'm having them again. Dumbledore thinks it will get worse if I don't do anything."

"Okay I agree, but why Snape? I mean why can't Dumbledore teach you this Occulumency himself?" asked Ron trying to keep his annoyance at bay.

"I asked him the same question but he said he has his own reasons and Snape agreed already."

"That's impossible! Why would he do that? I mean he hates you. And the entire school knows that." Ron simplified everything. "What if he has some hidden motives?"

"Ron, don't be silly. How many times should I remind you that Dumbledore trusts him" said Hermione fuming.

"She is right Ron and now we know he is a member of the Order too. And I don't think Dumbledore selected him without any double checks. I bet his sinister behavior is part of his spy act."

Ron gave a dismayed look to which Harry interjected as his patience started to wane. "Okay, if that's not sufficient for you then I'll tell you something else that will help you understand why I believe Snape.""

"I'm listening Harry" challenged Ron.

"Snape was the one who informed Dumbledore I was living with Megan. You know if he wanted he could have used this opportunity to inform Voldemort but he didn't. Instead he called Dumbledore. And not only that but when Dumbledore told him to brew the healing elixir for Megan he did it without any hesitation." Harry paused as he approached the most difficult part of his reasoning. "We never mentioned this but Snape donated his own blood, a part of his own magic to heal Megan."

"Merlin's hat! Snape really did that?" Ron asked with a shock. "Harry, that's blood magic! In our world giving someone your blood is considered ultimate sacrifice. It is either used for very dark or very sacred reasons. And that's why no one teaches blood magic at Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I know that. And to clear it out further it wasn't Snape's idea. Dumbledore convinced him to do that. Not only that but he made Snape live with us until the elixir had brewed completely. You won't believe this but it gave me an opportunity to observe him closely." Harry smiled when he explained the next part. "All through his stay he actually behaved like a normal human being. He even helped with the chores and never insulted Megan or me even once. He totally surprised me. If you ask me personally his behavior and all the insults and jabs are just an act. You know he gave me a heart attack when he accidently told me that he and my mother were childhood friends. And that does justify why Snape always keeps tabs on me. It wasn't because my father had once saved his life but it's because he knew my mom."

"Wow, that's umm... that's surprising Harry." Hermione said the words with some difficulty but nonetheless Harry appreciated them.

"I know it's weird to imagine Snape having a friendly chat with anyone let alone my mum, but it did happen. Believe it or not but the Snape I got to know at Megan's house was totally different than we are used to seeing at Hogwarts. He seemed humane around me and Megan.""

Ron still found it difficult to wrap his mind around the idea of a nice Snape. But the way Harry was explaining it Ron didn't find any reason not to believe. "I'm really sorry Harry but it's absurd and difficult to consider Snape a trustworthy person. May be it is his creepy looks and behavior that scares the hell out me." This time Ron sounded sincere. He seemed to be trying hard not to offend Harry. "Or maybe as Ginny said it's an old habit to think all Slytherins are villains. Frankly I'll need some time mate."

"That's alright Ron and I'm glad that you are trying at least" said Harry with a smile.

Hermione also felt relieved as Ron showed some unexpected maturity and avoided an unnecessary fight. With a sigh she looked at Harry and asked, "Harry do you think you will master this Occlumency before school starts. I mean if that doesn't happen then you'll need to keep this secret otherwise it would jeopardize Professor Snape's position as a spy."

"I didn't think about this but you do have a point Hermione. I need to work hard" said Harry thoughtfully. And that reminded him of Dumbledore's advice about reading books on mind magic. With that thought in mind he got up from his seat and asked "Would you like to join me in the library.""

Ron gave him a look of disgust as Hermione happily accepted the offer. Nonetheless he followed them to the library and studied until Ginny came searching for them when it was time for lunch.

The lunch was a surprise as it turned out Kreacher was the cook. He made chicken sandwiches stuffed with cheese and fried onion. He also made a delicious vegetable soup to go along.

Everyone ate with amazement and talked about the pristine kitchen. Harry listened but got distracted as soon as he noticed the absence of Sirius and Megan. He decided to find them once he finished with his lunch.

"Harry, slow down" said Hermione interrupting his thoughts. "Look how happy she sounds." She nodded towards Mrs. Weasley.

"Ur I think I missed something" Harry realized.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Charley is coming back from Romania. He got a job at St. Mungos."

"But how? I mean he studies dragons" Harry commented dubiously.

Ginny chimed in as she heard them. "When he graduated he wanted to become a Mediwizard but he also loved working with exotic animals. So he chose an apprenticeship which gave him a chance to master both."

"That's sounds incredible" praised Harry thinking he needed to think about his own future in case he survived Voldemort that long.

"Yeah that's really incredible" Ron joined them. "You never going to believe this but he was very good at Potions and had an O in his NEWT."

"Wow" Hermione exhaled with awe. "He is a genius then."

"Sure, you can say that. But what I think is he accepted this job because he cares about mum. He came here to clear out the mess Percy left for us" said Ron.

"I think that has already started to work. Look at your mum" said Harry observing the way she was looking at the letter Charlie had sent her.

"Hmm, that's true" agreed Ginny finishing her soup.

"So when he is coming?" Harry asked.

"On your birthday Harry" answered Ginny with a smile. "He has to join St. Mungos on August first."

Harry just nodded thinking about how fast time had gone by. It had been almost a month that he was living happily away from the Dursleys. He felt grateful for Megan coming in his life and giving him a chance to understand the real meaning of love and care.

"Harry?" Ginny tapped on his arm.

"What?" he asked startled.

"Are you alright?" she asked in low tone.

"Yeah, just thinking about something" he answered realizing he was staring into an empty bowl.

"Okay" said Ginny restraining herself from prying further.

Relieved Harry looked around and found no one looking at him. Even Ron and Hermione seemed busy chatting about something. He took it as queue to find Sirius and Megan. So without making any noise he left his seat and hurried towards the steps.

Once out of the kitchen he continued walking and climbing until he reached Sirius's bedroom door. He hesitated but then knocked lightly. He stood there waiting, counting the number of metallic flowers carved on the door frame. He was on number fifteen when a hopeless looking Sirius opened the door. Sirius quickly altered his expression for a smile.

"Harry..." Sirius opened his mouth but Harry interrupted him. "You missed lunch so I come looking for you. What kept you busy?"

"It's nothing, just Buckbeak. He seemed restless so I was giving him some company."

"Oh come on Sirius. Stop pretending" said Megan coming forward and making Harry jump in surprise.

"Megan? What are you doing here?" he asked trying to guess the reason.

"Thank god you asked Harry. If you hadn't, I would never have got this opportunity to tell you the real reason why your godfather is hiding in here."

"Megan, what is going on, I don't understand."

"Megan, please don't" Sirius pleaded but she ignored him.

"Harry he is having second thoughts about Marlene. He thinks it would be unfair to you if he had to share himself with Marlene and his daughter. "

It took Harry a few minutes to understand what Megan was trying to imply but when he realized he retaliated "Sirius that's absurd. How can you even think of it?"

Sirius wasn't expecting an outburst. "Harry, let me explain."

"No, don't even try because I'm really fed up of these sacrifices. I felt suffocated by their weight. It's painful, Sirius, to watch others suffer because of me."

"Harry, what are you talking about?" asked Sirius with confusion.

"What I'm saying is get your own life Sirius. Enjoy it while it lasts. And please think about Rhea and Marlene. They deserve to be with you more than me. Don't crush their hopes because of me. It is not fair to them."

"No, but you need me more than they do" argued Sirius.

"No, I don't" stated Harry quite harshly but instantly he realized his mistake as dejection crossed Sirius's features. "No, that came out wrong. I would love having you in my life but that doesn't mean you need to ignore your own family." He stared at his godfather intently. "Sirius, please listen. Your commitment towards your own family is not going to change the bond we have."

"But I don't want to leave you again. The last time I did, I lost you for twelve years. And you ended up with that miserable Petunia. Merlin knows how you survived with her but that was my fault. I left you alone without thinking."

Megan was overwhelmed by the despair Sirius was emitting. She knew it was her chance to say a few things, clear and loud. "Sirius, don't be foolish. What Harry said is correct. Rhea and Marlene have the right to be with you. You deserve to be happy. And where Harry is concerned, he is not alone anymore. He is with me and not Petunia. And I promise, I will take good care of him."

Sirius took some time to realize what Megan was trying to say. The possibility of Megan looking after Harry seemed a valid option to consider and thinking about it made him relax for the first time since he had visited Marlene. But again, he found a glitch. "But Megan you are alone and this is Harry we are talking about."

Megan gave Sirius a challenging look. "That's utter nonsense and I'm not alone."

"And what does that mean?" asked Harry with confusion.

Megan recognized her mistake but didn't know why she made it. As an answer a thought flashed in her mind but she immediately discarded it and came up with an acceptable reason. "I mean you all are going to help me, aren't you?"

"Of course we will" replied Sirius.

"Hey, I'm right here."

"Oh, I'm sorry Harry" said Megan ruffling Harry's hair playfully.

"Don't" he said getting out of her reach.

When he turned around Sirius looked much better. And for that Harry gave the entire credit to Megan. He felt grateful for Megan's timely intervention which saved him from becoming the reason for ruining Sirius's life.

Megan waited another minute or two before asking, "Sirius, what do you say to continue this discussion over lunch. I'm starving here."

That drew a weak smile from Sirius.

"Let's go then" pursued Megan.

"Fine, let's go" replied Sirius.

Just before they left the room Sirius stopped as he remembered something. "Harry, I heard that you were reading for Snape's class."

"Umm, I was trying to understand the subject but that's definitely a tiresome task." Harry told the truth.

Sirius smiled at first but then became solemn as he said, "Harry I want you to listen me carefully."

"Okay" responded Harry. He eyed Megan but she looked clueless.

"Harry, I don't care what Dumbledore thinks about Snape but I want you to be careful around him."

Harry opened his mouth for a protest but decided against of it as Sirius's expression hardened a bit. "Don't argue. Just promise me, if he tries anything suspicious you will come straight to me."

Harry knew it wasn't a request; still he wanted to tell Sirius that he was wrong about Snape. But then he saw a protective streak appeared in those grey eyes and realized it was the reason his parents choose Sirius as his godfather.

"Harry" insisted Sirius making his intent clear that he wouldn't be leaving Harry without the promise.

"Okay I promise" said Harry with sigh.

"Thank you" replied Sirius turning on his heels to follow a content looking Megan.

In the evening the hearth in Twelve Grimauld place flared green spitting an astute looking Severus Snape.

 **Continued…**


	17. Lessons Part 2

**Chapter 17**

 **Lessons: Part 2**

That evening the hearth in number twelve Grimmauld place flared green spitting an astute looking Severus Snape.

He groaned as soon as he came out. The daunting realization of unusual circumstances made everything challenging. Once again his Slytherin mind warned him to rethink his actions, if possible turned around and run. The only thing that kept him from going back was his stubbornness.

Severus didn't know when he reached but he was standing in the living room facing an old painting. It was the painting of a beautiful meadow spread around a mountain. He didn't know what but something about that painting made him curious. He stepped forward, observed it closely but found nothing. On instinct he removed his wand and was just about to touch it when he was interrupted.

"Don't!"

Severus turned on his heels. It was Harry, staring at him, especially at his wand.

"Good evening Professor" greeted Harry awkwardly.

Severus lowered his wand immediately. "Good evening" he replied curtly. "It would be essential that we conduct our lessons somewhere with minimum disturbance."

It took Harry a minute to understand what his professor was saying. "Umm, how about the room next to the library" he suggested thinking about the small room he had visited a few times to work on his project. "It's small but peaceful."

"Lead the way Potter." Severus didn't trust Harry's choice but followed him anyway.

They climbed the stairs in silence. Severus felt grateful for not encountering anyone on the way. A minute later they stood in front of a bolted door. Enthusiastically Harry moved forward and began working on the bolt. From his experience Harry knew it could take some time. But Severus didn't have patience for watching Harry struggling with the century old bolt.

"Allow me" Severus offered with a dismayed look.

Harry immediately moved and gave his professor some place. He watched carefully as Severus opened the rusted bolts with tap of his wand. A simple push and then door opened into a small but surprisingly fresh looking room.

Severus looked pleased when he entered the room. To his liking the room was sparsely furnished. It had a small table and a pair of chairs arranged beside a window. Other than that the room was empty.

"Take a seat" said Severus.

Harry obeyed trying his best not to think about his last few meetings with Severus at Megan's.

Unknown to Harry Severus's, obsidian eyes followed his every movement. To his irritation the boy seemed much too tense and that wasn't a very good foundation to start something as delicate as Occlumency. That also meant he needed to fix it before he started exploring Harry's mind with legilimency.

"Potter" he said as civilly as possible "I suppose the Headmaster Dumbledore has explained to you the necessity of learning Occlumency."

"Yes, he has" replied Harry nervously. The only thing stopping him from running away was the presence of his Phoenix wand in his jeans pocket.

"Potter concentrate" snapped Severus getting Harry's full attention. "Before starting the core subject I expect you to understand a few things" he stated.

Harry nodded.

"Despite the beliefs of many, Occlumency isn't that difficult to master. If you understand how the human mind works then it becomes easy to control your own."

Harry thanked the books he was reading earlier as he understood the first statement of his lesson.

"The most basic thing you must know is that the human brain serves as the physical container of the mind. The human mind is not just the manifestation of electric impulses that flows through neurons generating thoughts, perceptions and emotions under the influence of our memories and imaginations. It is more than that. It is a complex, multi-layered dynamic structure. However, still vulnerable to the invasion of a Master Legilimens." Severus explained.

"Master Legilimens?" asked Harry little confused.

Severus looked thoughtful as he answered. "A Master Legilimens is a person who under certain conditions is able to perform legilimency, an act of magically navigating through the many layers of his victim's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings. In muggle terms it is something like reading someone's mind. But using legilimency without consent is illegal and thus strongly prohibited."

Harry bit on his lips as he remembered the incident with Ginny.

Severus quirked his eyebrow as he got a glimpse of Harry's thoughts. To his own surprise he found himself getting intrigued by the new discovery which of course Harry hadn't comprehended fully. Keeping that in mind Severus decided to delve further. "So, in essence Occlumency and Legilimency are the two opposite sides of the same coin. One is for invasion while the other is for protection. Both are skills and can be used for good or the worst intent. Especially Legilimency, unless you use it subtly and no one reports it to Aurors, you are safe."

Severus added the last statement on purpose, to draw a reaction from Harry. To his satisfaction as well as disappointment Harry looked repelled by the idea. He simply failed to understand the significance of such an unusual gift.

 _'Foolish Gryffindor'_ Severus thought annoyingly. Harry's incognizance irked him so much that he decided to take matters in his hand.

"Potter stop being so ridiculously naive." As soon as Severus said that Harry's expression paled. He realized Severus knew. He wanted to scram but Severus's piercing gaze kept him glued to his chair.

"Possessing knowledge of invading peoples' minds does not make you a dark wizard. In contrary, it makes you resourceful."

"You mean the way you are using it to spy on me" accused Harry sordidly which Severus chose to ignore.

"Being defiant will not change anything. In fact the earlier you accept your capabilities and weaknesses better are the chances you learn to control them. And who knows they will be instrumental for your survival against the Dark Lord."

The last part caught Harry's attention; however he still failed to understand how it could be possible. He looked a little puzzled which in Severus's opinion was a good sign.

"I see my statement has finally registered in your brain. It is my obligation to address your extraordinary Gryffindorish opinion about evil especially when you, the ultimate example of righteous behavior, knew how to use the Parseltongue, an ability otherwise condemned as dark, in situations of dire need to save the life of someone you care for."

Harry knew Snape had him there. He himself until his second year was unaware of the general mass hysteria regarding Parseltongue.

"Okay I got your point. I used Parseltongue to open the chamber of secrets in order to save Ginny. But when I read her mind it was an accident and that doesn't make me a master Legilimens like you."

This time Severus acknowledged Harry's quip with a smirk.

Harry ignored the smirk as his mind wandered to the possibility of agreeing to Snape's practical views on use of legilimency.

"Potter?" Severus called giving Harry a chance to criticize his own chaotic thoughts loudly. "I'm not sure but it sounds horrible and wrong to read someone's mind. What if I accidentally stumbled upon something very uncomfortable or worse used this ability to cheat during my oral examination or something else?"

"Hmm, a likely side effect but I don't think your Gryffindor nobility will allow you to corrupt yourself that easily. Anyway thank you for the warning" said Severus as seriously as possible.

"No, that's not what I meant" mumbled Harry regretting why he even opened his mouth in the first place. A moment passed and to his surprise he saw something. Snape's severe expression mellowed a bit morphing into a smile. Now it was Harry's turn to narrow his eyes. And then it hit him. Snape was teasing him. But then the smirk was gone replaced by a serious look.

"Potter, it won't be that easy. Your first priority is Occlumency not Legilimency. In your case learning to occlude your mind against any kind of attack is vital. It will certainly be the only available option to save your mind from the Dark lord's attack. Once you master Occlumency we will discuss the extent of your Legilimency. For now we must deal with Occlumency and finish your training before school starts especially in the current situation when Fudge is determined to plot something suspiciously portentous against you and Dumbledore."

It wasn't the first time Harry was hearing about Fudge and his foolish smear campaign against Dumbledore. In the last few days he had seen Megan and the others trying to hide the Daily Prophet from his sight which was quite exhausting especially when he was dying to know the atrocious news that was flashing against him or Dumbledore. And to know the master puppeteer behind the Daily Prophet he didn't need a superspy. He knew it had to be Fudge or the snob Malfoy trying to misguide the entire magical community with some ulterior motive. With every passing day Fudge's stupid ignorance had started to grit on his nerves making him feel useless and worried.

"It's frustrating, isn't it Potter? Knowing you can't do anything except watch people like Fudge subterfuge others with their power and position." said Severus scrutinizing Harry carefully.

"Stop reading my thoughts. It's illegal" said Harry sharply.

"Stop me Potter." Severus challenged smoothly, though this time he didn't use legilimency.

"Fine, let's do that" said Harry not realizing Severus was pushing his buttons.

"As you wish Potter. For starters, don't use your wand. Try and clear your mind from any emotion especially anger. When you feel my presence just try and make me leave your mind" instructed Severus readying his wand in Harry's direction.

"Hey, give me a moment" said Harry jumping out of his chair. Keeping his eye on the wand he tried his best to understand the instructions. He even used a simple technique of mediation given in the _Animagi_ book to empty his mind.

Meanwhile Severus lowered his wand and observed the old empty room now bathed in the yellowish light coming from the lamp. A cool breeze attracted him towards the window. He stood there watching the sky darken minute by minute. And just before he thought he had enough he heard a distant sound of a door opening. He knew the general outline of the house so he assumed it had to be the kitchen backdoor. The ever alert spy instinct held him there in hope that he would get a glimpse of the person coming out. A minute passed and then he saw Megan walking along the hedge line protecting the perimeter of the entire property. From his distance he saw she was looking at something tiny, fluorescent in her hands. From her posture she looked a little tense. Severus tried to ignore it but the temptation of not knowing anything was too much and he wasn't a spy for nothing. Thus without wasting any time he flicked his wand and whispered a spell enabling him to see and hear clearly. The first thing he noticed about Megan was that she looked angry with eyes full of tears. The mixture of pain and frustration on her flushed face tugged an invisible string within him. He felt an urge to hold and console her. However his skeptical mind protested scornfully for getting into something that would complicate his life further.

"I'm ready, Sir" Harry called tentatively dragging Severus from his unexplained dilemma.

Severus heard but didn't move from his spot. Instead he stood there watching Megan wiping her tears with a resolve that promised retribution. Severus failed to draw any conclusion but he was relieved to see Megan turning around and vanishing from his eyesight.

"Professor?" asked Harry puzzled.

" _Finite_ " Severus muttered ending the spying spell. With a challenging look plastered on his face he turned around.

"Umm, I think I'm ready Sir" said Harry nervously.

"Hmm, in that case, on the count of three" replied Severus this time aiming his wand at Harry.

Harry braced himself for whatever was coming. He concentrated on his breathing.

"One, two, three. _Legillimence_!" incanted Severus.

A width of a second and Severus found himself buried in a silvery mist. It came as a surprise as he wasn't expecting anything at all. As he progressed he realized it was some kind of protective layer surrounding Harry's mind. Curious he continued his journey until he encountered a section where the mist had been dissolved giving a clear entry to Harry's mind. He couldn't explain why but he hesitated before entering.

On the other side Harry waited with anticipation. He tried not to panic, yet the dreadful thought of Snape seeing memories of his pathetic childhood frightened him. And then suddenly without any warning it happened. The gloomy room he was facing Snape in was gone flooding his mind with hundreds of flashbacks. With a blinding flash a memory came forward and he found his four year old self sitting on his tiny bed in a small dark room, waiting desperately not to think about his hungry stomach and scraped knee. Then he was five, watching Dudley jealously getting a hug and kiss from Petunia. Another memory flashed and he was six, terrified of getting punished for burning Vernon's beacon. And then he was eight staring hopelessly at the old pair of socks, his Christmas present. And like that with every flash he tumbled in to another painful and humiliating memory, every time craving for love and acceptance from his pseudo family until he turned eleven and saw the letter saying "Mr. Harry Potter, Cupboard under the stairs, 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey". The sweet memory vanished and he found himself under the sorting hat pleading not to get sorted into Slytherin house. He saw himself joyfully sitting with Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. Then everything moved even faster. His nostril got filled with a revolting stench of Troll followed by a loud crash. He saw the three headed dog and then a giant chessboard. He knew what was coming next. A two faced Quirrel and his scar flared with pain. Harry couldn't bear it anymore. He wanted to stop Snape but didn't know how. The next moment he saw Ginny's dying pale figure on the wet floor of the chamber of secrets and decided it was enough. He desperately wanted to stop Snape right there but his resolve dissolved as he found himself beside Sirius happy to know that unlike the Dursleys his godfather wanted him and that changed everything. However, before he said yes he was snatched forward racing on his broom a fire spitting dragon on his tail. He took a sharp turn around one of the towers but suddenly his broom was gone and he found himself chained to a tombstone, the warm blood still oozing from the cut Wormtail had made on his arm. The angry red eyed Voldemort looked at him and he screamed as his scar burned with agonizing pain. Abruptly everything stopped and he found himself back in the gloomy room. This time on his knees, sweating profusely not even bothered by the way Snape was staring down at him.

"Potter calm down. You aren't in the graveyard anymore" said Severus trying to hide his concern and shock behind tight walls of his composed aloofness. "I thought you were ready" he said with a dismayed look.

Harry ignored Severus as he got up and tried to shake the hideous face with red eyes swarming in front of him.

"My head hurts" he complained.

"I warned you it won't be easy especially when you are not following my orders properly. You failed to empty your mind and presented me a perfect opportunity to latch on to something" replied Severus in a tone that made Harry cringe.

"That's not what happened. I tried not to think of anything but then I thought of something and you didn't give me time to recover."

"Hmm, in that case let's do it again. This time do it correctly."

"But" protested Harry but Severus seemed determined to achieve something.

"No buts Potter, just try." He insisted controlling his own guilt filled anger for not ever thinking about Lily's child getting neglected and abused by the Dursleys. He felt a cold desire to punish Petunia depriving Harry of any love and kindness.

"Umm Professor... I can't" stammered Harry thinking about the throbbing headache he was having.

"Fine." Severus replied scrutinizing Harry without any contempt. Truth be told he felt grateful for the interruption. It gave him an opportunity to control his own irrational behavior. "I recon it would be a disastrous attempt to repeat the experiment when it is clear that you don't understand how to empty your mind."

"Yeah, maybe" said Harry puzzled by sudden civil tone Snape was using.

Severus took a moment before explaining the most suitable solution "Amongst the few techniques used to shield your mind against legilimency one technique is emptying your mind of all possible emotions and then building a barricade of your choice around your mind. To empty your mind effectively you can use meditation or simply concentrate on something that links you to nothing in particular. For instance you can think of a burning flame and use its heat to surround your mind."

To Harry's surprise though he appreciate Severus's efforts on clarification, the actual task of not thinking of anything bothered him.

"Or there is another way, which I generally never suggest using" said Severus noticing the genuine curiosity in Harry's eyes. "As an alternative you can chose a specific memory or set of memories to misguide the intruder. The tricky part is trying to concentrate on each and every enticing detail of the memory in order to trap the intruder so that you show something else without hinting you are deliberately controlling everything."

Harry tried his best to understand every syllable Severus had spoken. "Do you mean I need to conjure a memory like I do while casting a Patronus charm?"

Severus eyed Harry skeptically. He had heard the rumors that Harry could conjure a full Patronus but he never believed them. Severus felt curious to know the truth.

"What is your Patronus Potter?" he asked suddenly.

Harry knew the question wasn't relevant. He answered anyway. "It's a stag."

The answer didn't surprise Severus as much as the fact that Harry really did know the charm.

"So, what is yours?" asked Harry on a whim.

"That's none of your business Potter" drawled Severus harshly.

"Sorry" Harry mumbled immediately.

"Now about our original conversation. Your query about using a memory similar to one when you try to cast a Patronus charm is quite comparable."

"So should I try it then?" Harry was excited.

"I don't see any reason why we can't" stated Severus thoughtfully. "Tell me when you are ready."

"Okay" said Harry realizing there was no point in dwelling when it was obvious that he needed to learn Occlumency anyhow. Keeping that in mind he focused on something happy, something exhilarating but not too personal. He rummaged through several happy memories, rejected most of them and finally chose one.

"Umm, I'm ready" said Harry trying not to think about failure or anything else.

As a response Severus only stared, locking down his own conflicting emotions far away from surface.

Harry watched in slow motion as Severus raised his wand and whispered the spell. His heart pounded as he felt a flow of charged air particles rushing towards him. Just a second away from getting hit by the spell he leaped away into the memory he had chosen to relive.

Once again Severus found himself crossing the mystic silvery fog surrounding Harry's mind; but this time he was prepared to see and endure the unseen fragments of Harry's past. He latched on the first emotion he came across. It was thrill followed by bliss. Curious to find the source Severus delved further and experienced something that he never thought would been happening. He wasn't observing the memory from a distance anymore. Instead he was there in the memory, with Harry; soaring through the air at the speed of light. His ears buzzed, eyes watered as gusts of wind kept bursting on his face. The memory was so alive that he was feeling the rough texture of the feather coat under his palm. The feathers! With absolute disbelief he glanced at the ride and was horrified to see it was a huge grey hippogriff gliding over the beautiful expanse of the Hogwarts grounds. He would never say this but the view was utterly breathtaking.

He simply ignored the infectious feeling of thrill coming from Harry and focused on understanding how on earth Harry decided to use a memory modulation, a complicated but an effective strategy to occlude the mind. Unknown to Severus's thoughts, Harry simply forced Severus to become a part of his memory, forcing him to feel every detail that constructed the original memory. He didn't know how he achieved it but he successfully ignored Severus's presence and enjoyed what he always thought he had been born to do. He flew with his all might on the wings of a beast, which felt definitely different than riding a broom. He could feel his own thudding heart beating in harmony with that of the hippogriff. Suddenly a gust of wind came and the beast rose upward leveling itself steadily above the clouds bathing itself in the warmth of the golden sunlight.

Harry didn't know how to explain it but his mind cleared out of every emotion he had ever known. The only thing that remained and filled his soul was the incredible serenity. It made him conscious of his surrounding to an extent that he became part of everything.

But Severus wasn't. He struggled. The tranquility he felt was unusually alluring. With each passing minute his resistance began to crumble. He felt tempted to imbibe the absolute peace in exchange for the constant pain and darkness, a very easy solution to redeem his past. And there a tiny rational part of him snapped, realizing it couldn't be that easy. It had to be a trap. He needed to free himself as quickly as possible. So he struggled with all his might. He strengthened his Occlumency shields making them as strong as possible in the hope that it would prevent his own mind from getting trapped into the peaceful hallucination created by Harry.

A moment of struggle and Severus felt himself getting free from Harry's memory. Just as he was thinking of leaving he realized something wasn't right. The Harry he was riding with was fading. "Harry" Severus gasped with horror as he realized what was wrong. Harry wasn't trying to free himself. He was getting trapped in his own creation because he didn't want to stop it. He wanted to stay there, blissfully for ever inside his own head.

"Harry" Severus called this time desperately.

Something distracted Harry. With a jerk he came to his senses. He tried but failed to determine how long he stayed wrapped up in his peaceful memory. Catching his breath he tried to find out what went wrong. And then he suddenly remembered he wasn't alone.

"Professor, what happened?" He asked cranking his neck.

A feeling of relief washed over Severus as he heard Harry's voice. He wanted to smack the boy for his stupidity but knew that won't be possible here. "Potter, you need to stop now. It would be unwise to prolong our stay here."

It was an order but Harry couldn't ignore the subtle hint of worry in it.

"Potter, do you hear me?" Severus insisted.

"But I don't want to. It's nice, being here" replayed Harry.

Severus sighed as he realized he needed to try harder. A moment and he realized what he needed to do. He leaned forward and touched Harry's shoulder gently.

Harry tensed a little.

"Harry" whispered Severus as slowly as possible. "Please believe me when I say it's not real. It's a mere modification of a memory you lived a long time ago. It is nothing but a fragment of your imagination."

Harry felt warmth seeping through his shoulder. He didn't know Severus was able to use his first name. It almost sounded like Severus honestly and deeply cared for Harry.

Severus continued when he felt Harry relax a bit. "The more you stay here the more you will forget about the sense of the real world, the one that has people you care for. Don't you think it will be unfair if you decide to stay here without telling them first? And as I understand you matter to them as well. They no doubt love you Harry."

The words steered something up. It cracked open a wall separating him from the rest of his mind. And then a flood swarmed his bubble with images of people Harry considered more precious than anything. The faces were happy and smiling always giving him a chance to understand the real meaning of friends and family.

"Harry?" asked Severus ready to give another push. But that moment never came as he found himself on the grass standing face to face with a very guilty looking Harry.

"I'm sorry" said Harry avoiding Severus's gaze.

"For what?" asked Severus trying to figure out where they were now.

"Umm... for trapping you in" replied Harry.

"So you know I was there" asked Severus.

"Yeah, all the time" answered Harry sheepishly.

"Then I must say it was a very well orchestrated attempt. A bit too much isolation but that can be manageable if you practice with certain guidelines."

"Really? I thought I blew this time too. But I really enjoyed the flying" Harry smiled contently.

"I didn't. Not specifically on the back of a beast. Anyway where are we now?"

Harry looked around. It was a small park covered in grass. In the middle of the park there was a pair of an old swing and a slide. Other than that the park was empty. He knew the place quite well. "It's the park down Wisteria walk. Do you see those thick hedges?" He pointed at the eastern boundary of the ground. "There is a hidden manhole for a sewer. The tunnel is a few yards long and has another manhole opening near Mrs. Figg's backyard"

Severus's quirked his eyebrow as Harry decided to tell him something personal.

"I always use that manhole as a hideout when Dudley and his gang play the game of _Harry hunting_."

Severus felt his jaw tighten with the new piece of information. He had an uncontrollable urge to visit Petunia and her pathetic family for a little chat.

Lost in thoughts Harry did miss Severus's reaction but soon realized the memory certainly wasn't a happy one. Repelled by the fact that he had just showed something embarrassing to Severus, Harry decided it was a time to return to the real world.

"Is it okay if I leave now?" asked Harry tentatively.

"Yes, indeed it's time we return."

The reply confused Harry. He needed to know what was going on. "Wait a minute what you mean by us? Can't you leave my mind on your own? Am I still trapping you?"

"In a way you are. But this set up is not as strong as the earlier one meaning that if I wish to remove myself from this memory of yours then I will. But it would be unwise to do so as there is a chance that my forced exit would injure your mind to an unknown extent. And that is the reason I never liked this method."

Severus watched Harry scrunching his peaceful face as he tried to understand the implications, something that no child of his age even knew could exist. The agitating thought compelled him to do something for the innocent child who had an unfortunate past and a daunting future. For Harry's sake, he decided to lower his self created constrain and show a glimpse of his well hidden nature. He allowed his feelings to control his words. "Harry, just relax. Let me guide you through this."

Harry stared at Severus. The gentle baritone conjured an old ache he thought he had forgotten.

"You don't have to face everything alone. In the past you didn't have anyone to rely on but now you have Megan and..." He trailed as he reached the most difficult part of his confession.

"And..?" questioned Harry with a pounding heart.

Severus stared uncertainly. He feared for Harry's reaction. He didn't know what he would do if Harry rejected him in disgust or even worse in hatred. Or maybe it was the perfect time to know what Harry would think.

"Professor?" asked Harry expectantly.

"Harry, I don't know if you know this or not but the healing elixir that we drank with Megan forged a very complicated and unusual magical bond between us."

"What?" There was panic in Harry's voice. He knew one part of him was craving to here this but the other was still confused.

"Calm down Harry. I haven't finished yet" said Severus seeing the exact reaction he was expecting. But he didn't care. He knew he needed to finish the conversation before they went back to the real world. "The elixir made me and Megan your blood guardians, giving us right to look after your well being."

"No, that's impossible. I can understand that about Megan, but you? That's really absurd." Harry couldn't hide the denial. A few days ago when he saw the illusion his heart ached for being a part of a happy family. He waited like a fool but nothing happened. And when it became obvious that nothing like that was going to happen, he gave up thinking that he didn't deserve it.

"Harry I know it is certainly absurd and like you I tried my best to deny it. I even searched for a solution to reverse the effects. But I failed and finally decided to accept the facts."

"But it's too much" said Harry pain evident in his voice. "It will change everything."

"I know it will. Look at the bright side. This situation allows you the right to seek me or Megan at any time if you required any help or advice. And I promise you that I'll try my best to behave in a civil manner, at least in private."

Harry became silent. He needed time to think before he made any decision.

Severus took the silence as sign to talk."Harry, it will be fine if you don't want to be a part of this. Or maybe it would be good for everyone if I stay put and let Megan handle everything. What do you think? "

Harry felt uncertain. He didn't know whether it was real or Severus was using some Occlumency trick on him. To find out the truth he needed to escape his own head.

"I'm leaving" was the only warning Harry gave before he focused on details of room they were standing.

Harry's knees buckled the moment he saw the walls of the gloomy room. But before he fell down he felt a strong grip on his arm.

"Are you alright?" asked Severus without losing the grip.

Harry nodded breathing deeply. He let Severus guide him towards the empty chair so he could sit.

It was painful but Severus accepted Harry's clear rejection. He decided to move on by changing the topic. "We will discuss more about your memory modulation in the next Occlumency lesson. I will inform you the day and date later. "

With that Severus turned around to leave.

"No, wait" said Harry realizing he needed to ensure that he wasn't imagining anything.

A tiny speck of hope rose as Severus heard the request. He stopped and once again faced Harry. A little stoic but nonetheless ready to hear whatever Harry had in mind.

Still rooted to his seat Harry asked "Everything that you said while we were inside my head, was it true? Do we really share a blood relation now?"

"For both your questions the answer is 'Yes'. I only spoke the truth Harry" replied Severus with such seriousness that it left no doubts in Harry's mind.

"What about Megan? Does she know everything? You said you will let her handle everything. What exactly does that mean?" Harry asked trying to understand Megan's role in this whole messy picture.

Severus didn't know how to explain this part when he himself wasn't sure about anything. "Certainly she knows everything but she doesn't want to believe that the elixir had chosen me as your guardian too."

"If you ask me it's not her fault. You made it impossible to believe that you are a normal human being capable of caring and loving others" said Harry with a smile.

Severus narrowed his eyes but that didn't stop Harry from asking another question. "But don't you think I'm too old for this guardianship stuff? I mean two more years and if somehow Tom fails to kill me during them, I'll be an adult. So what's the point in chaining your fates with mine? "

Severus couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had never seen a teenager talking so hopelessly about his own future.

"Potter" Severus's voice hardened "you still are a fourteen year old boy with very limited knowledge of magical skills; and that is enough reason for us to take care of you until you become twenty one or even older than that. Also I have every intention of keeping you alive until you become the son that Lily or any parent would be proud of having."

"Hey, slow down. You aren't my guardian yet" protested Harry shivering at thought of Severus hovering over his shoulders at Hogwarts.

"Don't challenge me. A single drop of our bloods and I'll have you in my custody. "

"But do you really think they will just hand me to you, a death eater who might be plotting this all along with the intention of smuggling me directly to your dark lord."

"A valid point and that's why we will be keeping it under tight wraps until Megan and I sort out few things first."

"Till then I'm on my own, right?" asked Harry hopefully.

Severus smirked as he answered. "I don't see why you are bothered by that when you know very well that I'm intending to spend most of my summer in order to improving your Occlumency skills especially the memory modulation you are so keen on using. Oh, and I almost forgot, if Megan and I resolve this issue in time Albus has decided to inform Minerva about the new arrangements so she can report me and Megan regularly about your academic progress at Hogwarts."

"No, that's not happening." Harry looked horrified by the prospect.

"Now that's settled I should leave hoping that tonight before you go to sleep you will try to empty your mind and build a barrier around your mind."

"But I don't know how to."

"You already have proven that you are capable of using a very complicated method to protect your mind. So what's difficult with this? Just concentrate on your breathing and let go of everything. In no time you will know how to raise a shield. I suggest you start practising tonight."

"Fine, I'll try." This time Harry looked sincere.

"Hmm" was the only reply Harry got in return before Severus turned around to leave.

"Good night." Harry found himself saying hastily as he watched the tall figure of Severus Snape disappearing into the darkness of the corridor.

 **SSSSSSSSSSSS**


End file.
